Lamentations 1:3-5

New International Reader's Version

³ After Judah’s people had suffered greatly,
    they were taken away as prisoners.
Now they live among the nations.
    They can’t find any place to rest.
All those who were chasing them have caught up with them.
    And they can’t get away.

⁴ The roads to Zion are empty.
    No one travels to her appointed feasts.
All the public places near her gates are deserted.
    Her priests groan.
Her young women are sad.
    And Zion herself weeps bitterly.

⁵ Her enemies have become her masters.
    They have an easy life.
The Lord has brought suffering to Jerusalem
    because her people have committed so many sins.
Her children have been taken away as prisoners.
    Her enemies have forced her people to leave their homes.