(א) עַ֥ל נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀ בָּבֶ֗ל שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ בְּ֝זָכְרֵ֗נוּ אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃
(ב) עַֽל־עֲרָבִ֥ים בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ׃
(ג) כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם שְֽׁאֵל֪וּנוּ שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ דִּבְרֵי־שִׁ֭יר וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ שִׂמְחָ֑ה שִׁ֥ירוּ לָ֝֗נוּ מִשִּׁ֥יר צִיּֽוֹן׃
(ד) אֵ֗יךְ נָשִׁ֥יר אֶת־שִׁיר־יקוָ֑ק עַ֝֗ל אַדְמַ֥ת נֵכָֽר׃
(ה) אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי׃
(ו) תִּדְבַּ֥ק־לְשׁוֹנִ֨י ׀ לְחִכִּי֮ אִם־לֹ֪א אֶ֫זְכְּרֵ֥כִי אִם־לֹ֣א אַ֭עֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם עַ֝֗ל רֹ֣אשׁ שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃
(1) By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, remembering Zion.
(2) There on the willow trees we hung our harps.
(3) For there our captors requested of us song, our tormentors rejoicing, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
(4) How can we sing the song of Adonai on foreign soil?
(5) If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.
(6) Let my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my greatest joy.
(1) Alas! Lonely sits the city Once great with people! She that was great among nations Is become like a widow; The princess among states Is become a thrall. (2) Bitterly she weeps in the night, Her cheek wet with tears. There is none to comfort her Of all her friends. All her allies have betrayed her; They have become her foes. (3) Judah has gone into exile Because of misery and harsh oppression; When she settled among the nations, She found no rest; All her pursuers overtook her In the narrow places. (4) Zion’s roads are in mourning, Empty of festival pilgrims; All her gates are deserted. Her priests sigh, Her maidens are unhappy— She is utterly disconsolate! (5) Her enemies are now the masters, Her foes are at ease, Because Hashem has afflicted her For her many transgressions; Her infants have gone into captivity Before the enemy. (6) Gone from Fair Zion are all That were her glory; Her leaders were like stags That found no pasture; They could only walk feebly Before the pursuer. (7) All the precious things she had In the days of old Jerusalem recalled In her days of woe and sorrow, When her people fell by enemy hands With none to help her; When enemies looked on and gloated Over her downfall. (8) Jerusalem has greatly sinned, Therefore she is become a mockery. All who admired her despise her, For they have seen her disgraced; And she can only sigh And shrink back. (9) Her uncleanness clings to her skirts. She gave no thought to her future; She has sunk appallingly, With none to comfort her.— See, O Hashem, my misery; How the enemy jeers! (10) The foe has laid hands On everything dear to her. She has seen her Sanctuary Invaded by nations Which You have denied admission Into Your community. (11) All her inhabitants sigh As they search for bread; They have bartered their treasures for food, To keep themselves alive.— See, O Hashem, and behold, How abject I have become! (12) May it never befall you, All who pass along the road— Look about and see: Is there any agony like mine, Which was dealt out to me When Hashem afflicted me On His day of wrath? (13) From above He sent a fire Down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet, He hurled me backward; He has left me forlorn, In constant misery. (14) The yoke of my offenses is bound fast, Lashed tight by His hand; Imposed upon my neck, It saps my strength; The Lord has delivered me into the hands Of those I cannot withstand. (15) The Lord in my midst has rejected All my heroes; He has proclaimed a set time against me To crush my young men. As in a press the Lord has trodden Fair Maiden Judah. (16) For these things do I weep, My eyes flow with tears: Far from me is any comforter Who might revive my spirit; My children are forlorn, For the foe has prevailed. (17) Zion spreads out her hands, She has no one to comfort her; Hashem has summoned against Jacob His enemies all about him; Jerusalem has become among them A thing unclean. (18) Hashem is in the right, For I have disobeyed Him. Hear, all you peoples, And behold my agony: My maidens and my youths Have gone into captivity! (19) I cried out to my friends, But they played me false. My priests and my elders Have perished in the city As they searched for food To keep themselves alive. (20) See, O Hashem, the distress I am in! My heart is in anguish, I know how wrong I was To disobey. Outside the sword deals death; Indoors, the plague. (21) When they heard how I was sighing, There was none to comfort me; All my foes heard of my plight and exulted. For it is Your doing: You have brought on the day that You threatened. Oh, let them become like me! (22) Let all their wrongdoing come before You, And deal with them As You have dealt with me For all my transgressions. For my sighs are many, And my heart is sick.
(1) Alas! The Lord in His wrath Has shamed Fair Zion, Has cast down from heaven to earth The majesty of Israel. He did not remember His Footstool On His day of wrath. (2) The Lord has laid waste without pity All the habitations of Jacob; He has razed in His anger Fair Judah’s strongholds. He has brought low in dishonor The kingdom and its leaders. (3) In blazing anger He has cut down All the might of Israel; He has withdrawn His right hand In the presence of the foe; He has ravaged Jacob like flaming fire, Consuming on all sides. (4) He bent His bow like an enemy, Poised His right hand like a foe; He slew all who delighted the eye. He poured out His wrath like fire In the Tent of Fair Zion. (5) The Lord has acted like a foe, He has laid waste Israel, Laid waste all her citadels, Destroyed her strongholds. He has increased within Fair Judah Mourning and moaning. (6) He has stripped His Booth like a garden, He has destroyed His Tabernacle; Hashem has ended in Zion Festival and sabbath; In His raging anger He has spurned King and priest. (7) The Lord has rejected His altar, Disdained His Sanctuary. He has handed over to the foe The walls of its citadels; They raised a shout in the House of Hashem As on a festival day. (8) Hashem resolved to destroy The wall of Fair Zion; He measured with a line, refrained not From bringing destruction. He has made wall and rampart to mourn, Together they languish. (9) Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has smashed her bars to bits; Her king and her leaders are in exile, Instruction is no more; Her prophets, too, receive No vision from Hashem. (10) Silent sit on the ground The elders of Fair Zion; They have strewn dust on their heads And girded themselves with sackcloth; The maidens of Jerusalem have bowed Their heads to the ground. (11) My eyes are spent with tears, My heart is in tumult, My being melts away Over the ruin of my poor people, As babes and sucklings languish In the squares of the city. (12) They keep asking their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?” As they languish like battle-wounded In the squares of the town, As their life runs out In their mothers’ bosoms. (13) What can I take as witness or liken To you, O Fair Jerusalem? What can I match with you to console you, O Fair Maiden Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea: Who can heal you? (14) Your seers prophesied to you Delusion and folly. They did not expose your iniquity So as to restore your fortunes, But prophesied to you oracles Of delusion and deception. (15) All who pass your way Clap their hands at you; They hiss and wag their head At Fair Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called Perfect in Beauty, Joy of All the Earth?” (16) All your enemies Jeer at you; They hiss and gnash their teeth, And cry: “We’ve ruined her! Ah, this is the day we hoped for; We have lived to see it!” (17) Hashem has done what He purposed, Has carried out the decree That He ordained long ago; He has torn down without pity. He has let the foe rejoice over you, Has exalted the might of your enemies. (18) Their heart cried out to the Lord. O wall of Fair Zion, Shed tears like a torrent Day and night! Give yourself no respite, Your eyes no rest. (19) Arise, cry out in the night At the beginning of the watches, Pour out your heart like water In the presence of the Lord! Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your infants, Who faint for hunger At every street corner. (20) See, O Hashem, and behold, To whom You have done this! Alas, women eat their own fruit, Their new-born babes! Alas, priest and prophet are slain In the Sanctuary of the Lord! (21) Prostrate in the streets lie Both young and old. My maidens and youths Are fallen by the sword; You slew them on Your day of wrath, You slaughtered without pity. (22) You summoned, as on a festival, My neighbors from roundabout. On the day of the wrath of Hashem, None survived or escaped; Those whom I bore and reared My foe has consumed.
(1) I am the man who has known affliction Under the rod of His wrath; (2) Me He drove on and on In unrelieved darkness; (3) On none but me He brings down His hand Again and again, without cease. (4) He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones. (5) All around me He has built Misery and hardship; (6) He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those long dead. (7) He has walled me in and I cannot break out; He has weighed me down with chains. (8) And when I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer; (9) He has walled in my ways with hewn blocks, He has made my paths a maze. (10) He is a lurking bear to me, A lion in hiding; (11) He has forced me off my way and mangled me, He has left me numb. (12) He has bent His bow and made me The target of His arrows: (13) He has shot into my vitals The shafts of His quiver. (14) I have become a laughingstock to all people, The butt of their gibes all day long. (15) He has filled me with bitterness, Sated me with wormwood. (16) He has broken my teeth on gravel, Has ground me into the dust. (17) My life was bereft of peace, I forgot what happiness was. (18) I thought my strength and hope Had perished before Hashem. (19) To recall my distress and my misery Was wormwood and poison; (20) Whenever I thought of them, I was bowed low. (21) But this do I call to mind, Therefore I have hope: (22) The kindness of Hashem has not ended, His mercies are not spent. (23) They are renewed every morning— Ample is Your grace! (24) “Hashem is my portion,” I say with full heart; Therefore will I hope in Him. (25) Hashem is good to those who trust in Him, To the one who seeks Him; (26) It is good to wait patiently Till rescue comes from Hashem. (27) It is good for a man, when young, To bear a yoke; (28) Let him sit alone and be patient, When He has laid it upon him. (29) Let him put his mouth to the dust— There may yet be hope. (30) Let him offer his cheek to the smiter; Let him be surfeited with mockery. (31) For the Lord does not Reject forever, (32) But first afflicts, then pardons In His abundant kindness. (33) For He does not willfully bring grief Or affliction to man, (34) Crushing under His feet All the prisoners of the earth. (35) To deny a man his rights In the presence of the Most High, (36) To wrong a man in his cause— This the Lord does not choose. (37) Whose decree was ever fulfilled, Unless the Lord willed it? (38) Is it not at the word of the Most High, That weal and woe befall? (39) Of what shall a living man complain? Each one of his own sins! (40) Let us search and examine our ways, And turn back to Hashem; (41) Let us lift up our hearts with our hands To God in heaven: (42) We have transgressed and rebelled, And You have not forgiven. (43) You have clothed Yourself in anger and pursued us, You have slain without pity. (44) You have screened Yourself off with a cloud, That no prayer may pass through. (45) You have made us filth and refuse In the midst of the peoples. (46) All our enemies loudly Rail against us. (47) Panic and pitfall are our lot, Death and destruction. (48) My eyes shed streams of water Over the ruin of my poor people. (49) My eyes shall flow without cease, Without respite, (50) Until Hashem looks down And beholds from heaven. (51) My eyes have brought me grief Over all the maidens of my city. (52) My foes have snared me like a bird, Without any cause. (53) They have ended my life in a pit And cast stones at me. (54) Waters flowed over my head; I said: I am lost! (55) I have called on Your name, O Hashem, From the depths of the Pit. (56) Hear my plea; Do not shut Your ear To my groan, to my cry! (57) You have ever drawn nigh when I called You; You have said, “Do not fear!” (58) You championed my cause, O Lord, You have redeemed my life. (59) You have seen, O Hashem, the wrong done me; Oh, vindicate my right! (60) You have seen all their malice, All their designs against me; (61) You have heard, O Hashem, their taunts, All their designs against me, (62) The mouthings and pratings of my adversaries Against me all day long. (63) See how, at their ease or at work, I am the butt of their gibes. (64) Give them, O Hashem, their deserts According to their deeds. (65) Give them anguish of heart; Your curse be upon them! (66) Oh, pursue them in wrath and destroy them From under the heavens of Hashem!
(1) Alas! The gold is dulled, Debased the finest gold! The sacred gems are spilled At every street corner. (2) The precious children of Zion; Once valued as gold— Alas, they are accounted as earthen pots, Work of a potter’s hands! (3) Even jackals offer the breast And suckle their young; But my poor people has turned cruel, Like ostriches of the desert. (4) The tongue of the suckling cleaves To its palate for thirst. Little children beg for bread; None gives them a morsel. (5) Those who feasted on dainties Lie famished in the streets; Those who were reared in purple Have embraced refuse heaps. (6) The guilt of my poor people Exceeded the iniquity of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, Without a hand striking it. (7) Her elect were purer than snow, Whiter than milk; Their limbs were ruddier than coral, Their bodies were like sapphire. (8) Now their faces are blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin has shriveled on their bones, It has become dry as wood. (9) Better off were the slain of the sword Than those slain by famine, Who pined away, [as though] wounded, For lack of the fruits of the field. (10) With their own hands, tenderhearted women Have cooked their children; Such became their fare, In the disaster of my poor people. (11) Hashem vented all His fury, Poured out His blazing wrath; He kindled a fire in Zion Which consumed its foundations. (12) The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor any of the inhabitants of the world, That foe or adversary could enter The gates of Jerusalem. (13) It was for the sins of her prophets, The iniquities of her priests, Who had shed in her midst The blood of the just. (14) They wandered blindly through the streets, Defiled with blood, So that no one was able To touch their garments. (15) “Away! Unclean!” people shouted at them, “Away! Away! Touch not!” So they wandered and wandered again; For the nations had resolved: “They shall stay here no longer.” (16) Hashem's countenance has turned away from them, He will look on them no more. They showed no regard for priests, No favor to elders. (17) Even now our eyes pine away In vain for deliverance. As we waited, still we wait For a nation that cannot help. (18) Our steps were checked, We could not walk in our squares. Our doom is near, our days are done— Alas, our doom has come! (19) Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the sky; They chased us in the mountains, Lay in wait for us in the wilderness. (20) The breath of our life, Hashem's anointed, Was captured in their traps— He in whose shade we had thought To live among the nations. (21) Rejoice and exult, Fair Edom, Who dwell in the land of Uz! To you, too, the cup shall pass, You shall get drunk and expose your nakedness. (22) Your iniquity, Fair Zion, is expiated; He will exile you no longer. Your iniquity, Fair Edom, He will note; He will uncover your sins.
(א) זְכֹ֤ר יקוק מֶֽה־הָ֣יָה לָ֔נוּ הביט [הַבִּ֖יטָה] וּרְאֵ֥ה אֶת־חֶרְפָּתֵֽנוּ׃ (ב) נַחֲלָתֵ֙נוּ֙ נֶֽהֶפְכָ֣ה לְזָרִ֔ים בָּתֵּ֖ינוּ לְנָכְרִֽים׃ (ג) יְתוֹמִ֤ים הָיִ֙ינוּ֙ אין [וְאֵ֣ין] אָ֔ב אִמֹּתֵ֖ינוּ כְּאַלְמָנֽוֹת׃ (ד) מֵימֵ֙ינוּ֙ בְּכֶ֣סֶף שָׁתִ֔ינוּ עֵצֵ֖ינוּ בִּמְחִ֥יר יָבֹֽאוּ׃ (ה) עַ֤ל צַוָּארֵ֙נוּ֙ נִרְדָּ֔פְנוּ יָגַ֖עְנוּ לא [וְלֹ֥א] הֽוּנַ֖ח לָֽנוּ׃ (ו) מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ נָתַ֣נּוּ יָ֔ד אַשּׁ֖וּר לִשְׂבֹּ֥עַֽ לָֽחֶם׃ (ז) אֲבֹתֵ֤ינוּ חָֽטְאוּ֙ אינם [וְאֵינָ֔ם] אנחנו [וַאֲנַ֖חְנוּ] עֲוֺנֹתֵיהֶ֥ם סָבָֽלְנוּ׃ (ח) עֲבָדִים֙ מָ֣שְׁלוּ בָ֔נוּ פֹּרֵ֖ק אֵ֥ין מִיָּדָֽם׃ (ט) בְּנַפְשֵׁ֙נוּ֙ נָבִ֣יא לַחְמֵ֔נוּ מִפְּנֵ֖י חֶ֥רֶב הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃ (י) עוֹרֵ֙נוּ֙ כְּתַנּ֣וּר נִכְמָ֔רוּ מִפְּנֵ֖י זַלְעֲפ֥וֹת רָעָֽב׃ (יא) נָשִׁים֙ בְּצִיּ֣וֹן עִנּ֔וּ בְּתֻלֹ֖ת בְּעָרֵ֥י יְהוּדָֽה׃ (יב) שָׂרִים֙ בְּיָדָ֣ם נִתְל֔וּ פְּנֵ֥י זְקֵנִ֖ים לֹ֥א נֶהְדָּֽרוּ׃ (יג) בַּחוּרִים֙ טְח֣וֹן נָשָׂ֔אוּ וּנְעָרִ֖ים בָּעֵ֥ץ כָּשָֽׁלוּ׃ (יד) זְקֵנִים֙ מִשַּׁ֣עַר שָׁבָ֔תוּ בַּחוּרִ֖ים מִנְּגִינָתָֽם׃ (טו) שָׁבַת֙ מְשׂ֣וֹשׂ לִבֵּ֔נוּ נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ לְאֵ֖בֶל מְחֹלֵֽנוּ׃ (טז) נָֽפְלָה֙ עֲטֶ֣רֶת רֹאשֵׁ֔נוּ אֽוֹי־נָ֥א לָ֖נוּ כִּ֥י חָטָֽאנוּ׃ (יז) עַל־זֶ֗ה הָיָ֤ה דָוֶה֙ לִבֵּ֔נוּ עַל־אֵ֖לֶּה חָשְׁכ֥וּ עֵינֵֽינוּ׃ (יח) עַ֤ל הַר־צִיּוֹן֙ שֶׁשָּׁמֵ֔ם שׁוּעָלִ֖ים הִלְּכוּ־בֽוֹ׃ (פ) (יט) אַתָּ֤ה יקוק לְעוֹלָ֣ם תֵּשֵׁ֔ב כִּסְאֲךָ֖ לְדֹ֥ר וָדֽוֹר׃ (כ) לָ֤מָּה לָנֶ֙צַח֙ תִּשְׁכָּחֵ֔נוּ תַּֽעַזְבֵ֖נוּ לְאֹ֥רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃
קהל: (כא) הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יקוק ׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ ונשוב [וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָה] חַדֵּ֥שׁ יָמֵ֖ינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃
(כב) כִּ֚י אִם־מָאֹ֣ס מְאַסְתָּ֔נוּ קָצַ֥פְתָּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עַד־מְאֹֽד׃
קהל: הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יקוק ׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ ונשוב [וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָה] חַדֵּ֥שׁ יָמֵ֖ינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃
הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יקוק ׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ ונשוב [וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָה] חַדֵּ֥שׁ יָמֵ֖ינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃
(1) Remember, O Hashem, what has befallen us; Behold, and see our disgrace! (2) Our heritage has passed to aliens, Our homes to strangers. (3) We have become orphans, fatherless; Our mothers are like widows. (4) We must pay to drink our own water, Obtain our own kindling at a price. (5) We are hotly pursued; Exhausted, we are given no rest. (6) We hold out a hand to Egypt; To Assyria, for our fill of bread. (7) Our fathers sinned and are no more; And we must bear their guilt. (8) Slaves are ruling over us, With none to rescue us from them. (9) We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness. (10) Our skin glows like an oven, With the fever of famine. (11) They have ravished women in Zion, Maidens in the towns of Judah. (12) Princes have been hanged by them; No respect has been shown to elders. (13) Young men must carry millstones, And youths stagger under loads of wood. (14) The old men are gone from the gate, The young men from their music. (15) Gone is the joy of our hearts; Our dancing is turned into mourning. (16) The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us that we have sinned! (17) Because of this our hearts are sick, Because of these our eyes are dimmed: (18) Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate; Jackals prowl over it. (19) But You, O Hashem, are enthroned forever, Your throne endures through the ages. (20) Why have You forgotten us utterly, Forsaken us for all time?
ALL: (21) Take us back, O Hashem, to Yourself, And let us come back; Renew our days as of old!
(22) For truly, You have rejected us, Bitterly raged against us.
ALL: Take us back, O Hashem, to Yourself, And let us come back; Renew our days as of old!
Take us back, O Hashem, to Yourself, And let us come back; Renew our days as of old!
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן וְעָרֶיהָ,
כְּמוֹ אִשָּׁה בְּצִירֶיהָ,
וְכִבְתוּלָה חֲגוּרַת שַׂק,
עַל בַּעַל נְעוּרֶיהָ
עֲלֵי אַרְמוֹן אֲשֶׁר נֻטַּשׁ,
בְּאַשְׁמַת צֹאן עֲדָרֶיהָ,
וְעַל בִּיאַת מְחָרְפֵי אֵל,
בְּתוֹךְ מִקְדַּשׁ חֲדָרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי גָלוּת מְשָׁרְתֵי אֵל,
נְעִימֵי שִׁיר זְמָרֶיהָ,
וְעַל דָּמָם אֲשֶׁר שֻׁפַּךְ
כְּמוֹ מֵימֵי יְאוֹרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי הֶגְיוֹן מְחוֹלֶיהָ,
אֲשֶׁר דָּמַם בְּעָרֶיהָ,
וְעַל וַעַד אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַם
וּבִטּוּל סַנְהֶדְרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי זִבְחֵי תְמִידֶיהָ
וּפִדְיוֹנֵי בְּכוֹרֶיהָ,
וְעַל חִלּוּל כְּלֵי הֵיכָל
וּמִזְבֵּחַ קְטוֹרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי טַפֵּי מְלָכֶיהָ
בְּנֵי דָוִד גְּבִירֶיהָ,
וְעַל יָפְיָם אֲשֶׁר חָשַׁךְ
בְּעֵת סָרוּ כְּתָרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי כָבוֹד אֲשֶׁר גָּלָה
בְּעֵת חָרְבַּן דְּבִירֶיהָ,
וְעַל לוֹחֵץ אֲשֶׁר לָחַץ
וְשָׂם שַׂקִּים חֲגוֹרֶיהָ:
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי מַחַץ וְרֹב מַכּוֹת
אֲשֶׁר הֻכּוּ נְזִירֶיהָ,
וְעַל נִפּוּץ אֱלֵי סֶלַע
עֲוִילֶיהָ נְעָרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי שִׂמְחַת מְשַׂנְאֶיהָ
בְּשָׂחְקָם עַל שְׁבָרֶיהָ,
וְעַל עִנּוּי בְּנֵי חוֹרִין
נְדִיבֶיהָ טְהוֹרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי פֶשַׁע אֲשֶׁר עָוְתָה
סְלוֹל דֶּרֶךְ אֲשׁוּרֶיהָ,
וְעַל צִבְאוֹת קְהָלֶיהָ
שְׁזוּפֶיהָ שְׁחוֹרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי קוֹלוֹת מְחָרְפֶיהָ
בְּעֵת רַבּוּ פְגָרֶיהָ,
וְעַל רִגְשַׁת מְגַדְפֶיהָ
בְּתוֹך מִשְׁכַּן חֲצֵרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
עֲלֵי שִׁמְךָ אֲשֶׁר חֻלַּל
בְּפִי קָמֵי מְצֵרֶיהָ,
וְעַל תַּחַן יְצַוְּחוּ לָךְ קְשׁוֹב
וּשְׁמַע אֲמָרֶיהָ.
אֱלִי צִיּוֹן...
Mourn for Zion and her cities,
like a woman giving birth,
like a maiden wrapped in sack-cloth
for the husband of her youth
Mourn for the palace that was abandoned
like a sheep’s negligence of its flock,
and for the entry of God’s blasphemers
into her holy sanctuary.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for God’s exiled servants
who beautifully sang her songs,
and for their blood that was spilled
like the waters of her rivers.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the chatter of her dancers
whose silence fills her cities,
and for the assembly that was destroyed
and the abolition of her Sanhedrin.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the daily sacrifices
and the redemption of her firstborn,
and for the desecration of the Temple vessels
and the altar of her incense.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the babes of her kings,
noble children of David,
and for their beauty that was darkened
at the time of the removal of her crowns.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the glory that was dispelled
at the time of the destruction of her Holy of Holies,
and for the oppressor who tormented her
whilst girding her in sackcloth.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the wounds and the many blows
that struck her sainted ones,
and for the smashing on the rock
of her young children.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the joy of her haters
who rejoiced over her downfall,
and for the torment
of her pure and noble citizens.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the sins that caused her
to deviate from the true path,
and for her numerous congregations,
which were tarnished and blackened.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for the voices of her abusers
as her rising corpses mounted,
and for the jeering mobs
within her holy courtyards.
Mourn for Zion...
Mourn for Your name which was desecrated
in the mouths of those who stand against her,
and for their prayers which they cry out to you,
heed and hear her words.
Mourn for Zion...
(25) When you have begotten children and children’s children and are long established in the land, should you act wickedly and make for yourselves a sculptured image in any likeness, causing Hashem your God displeasure and vexation, (26) I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you that you shall soon perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not long endure in it, but shall be utterly wiped out. (27) Hashem will scatter you among the peoples, and only a scant few of you shall be left among the nations to which Hashem will drive you. (28) There you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, that cannot see or hear or eat or smell. (29) But if you search there for Hashem your God, you will find Him, if only you seek Him with all your heart and soul— (30) when you are in distress because all these things have befallen you and, in the end, return to Hashem your God and obey Him. (31) For Hashem your God is a compassionate God: He will not fail you nor will He let you perish; He will not forget the covenant which He made on oath with your fathers. (32) You have but to inquire about bygone ages that came before you, ever since God created man on earth, from one end of heaven to the other: has anything as grand as this ever happened, or has its like ever been known? (33) Has any people heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire, as you have, and survived? (34) Or has any god ventured to go and take for himself one nation from the midst of another by prodigious acts, by signs and portents, by war, by a mighty and an outstretched arm and awesome power, as Hashem your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? (35) It has been clearly demonstrated to you that Hashem alone is God; there is none beside Him. (36) From the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; on earth He let you see His great fire; and from amidst that fire you heard His words. (37) And because He loved your fathers, He chose their heirs after them; He Himself, in His great might, led you out of Egypt, (38) to drive from your path nations greater and more populous than you, to take you into their land and assign it to you as a heritage, as is still the case. (39) Know therefore this day and keep in mind that Hashem alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other. (40) Observe His laws and commandments, which I enjoin upon you this day, that it may go well with you and your children after you, and that you may long remain in the land that Hashem your God is assigning to you for all time.
(13) I will make an end of them —declares Hashem: No grapes left on the vine, No figs on the fig tree, The leaves all withered; Whatever I have given them is gone. (14) Why are we sitting by? Let us gather into the fortified cities And meet our doom there. For Hashem our God has doomed us, He has made us drink a bitter draft, Because we sinned against Hashem. (15) We hoped for good fortune, but no happiness came; For a time of relief—instead there is terror! (16) The snorting of their horses was heard from Dan; At the loud neighing of their steeds The whole land quaked. They came and devoured the land and what was in it, The towns and those who dwelt in them. (17) Lo, I will send serpents against you, Adders that cannot be charmed, And they shall bite you —declares Hashem. (18) When in grief I would seek comfort, My heart is sick within me. (19) “Is not Hashem in Zion? Is not her King within her? Why then did they anger Me with their images, With alien futilities?” Hark! The outcry of my poor people From the land far and wide: (20) “Harvest is past, Summer is gone, But we have not been saved.” (21) Because my people is shattered I am shattered; I am dejected, seized by desolation. (22) Is there no balm in Gilead? Can no physician be found? Why has healing not yet Come to my poor people? (23) Oh, that my head were water, My eyes a fount of tears! Then would I weep day and night For the slain of my poor people. (1) Oh, to be in the desert, At an encampment for wayfarers! Oh, to leave my people, To go away from them— For they are all adulterers, A band of rogues. (2) They bend their tongues like bows; They are valorous in the land For treachery, not for honesty; They advance from evil to evil. And they do not heed Me —declares Hashem. (3) Beware, every man of his friend! Trust not even a brother! For every brother takes advantage, Every friend is base in his dealings. (4) One man cheats the other, They will not speak truth; They have trained their tongues to speak falsely; They wear themselves out working iniquity. (5) You dwell in the midst of deceit. In their deceit, they refuse to heed Me —declares Hashem. (6) Assuredly, thus said Hashem of Hosts: Lo, I shall smelt and assay them— For what else can I do because of My poor people? (7) Their tongue is a sharpened arrow, They use their mouths to deceive. One speaks to his fellow in friendship, But lays an ambush for him in his heart. (8) Shall I not punish them for such deeds? —says Hashem— Shall I not bring retribution On such a nation as this? (9) For the mountains I take up weeping and wailing, For the pastures in the wilderness, a dirge. They are laid waste; no man passes through, And no sound of cattle is heard. Birds of the sky and beasts as well Have fled and are gone. (10) I will turn Jerusalem into rubble, Into dens for jackals; And I will make the towns of Judah A desolation without inhabitants. (11) What man is so wise That he understands this? To whom has Hashem’s mouth spoken, So that he can explain it: Why is the land in ruins, Laid waste like a wilderness, With none passing through? (12) Hashem replied: Because they forsook the Teaching I had set before them. They did not obey Me and they did not follow it, (13) but followed their own willful heart and followed the Baalim, as their fathers had taught them. (14) Assuredly, thus said Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to feed that people wormwood and make them drink a bitter draft. (15) I will scatter them among nations which they and their fathers never knew; and I will dispatch the sword after them until I have consumed them. (16) Thus said Hashem of Hosts: Listen! Summon the dirge-singers, let them come; Send for the skilled women, let them come. (17) Let them quickly start a wailing for us, That our eyes may run with tears, Our pupils flow with water. (18) For the sound of wailing Is heard from Zion: How we are despoiled! How greatly we are shamed! Ah, we must leave our land, Abandon our dwellings! (19) Hear, O women, the word of Hashem, Let your ears receive the word of His mouth, And teach your daughters wailing, And one another lamentation. (20) For death has climbed through our windows, Has entered our fortresses, To cut off babes from the streets, Young men from the squares. (21) Speak thus—says Hashem: The carcasses of men shall lie Like dung upon the fields, Like sheaves behind the reaper, With none to pick them up. (22) Thus said Hashem: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; Let not the strong man glory in his strength; Let not the rich man glory in his riches. (23) But only in this should one glory: In his earnest devotion to Me. For I Hashem act with kindness, Justice, and equity in the world; For in these I delight —declares Hashem.
(יא) וַיְחַ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶת־פְּנֵ֖י יקוק אֱלֹקָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לָמָ֤ה יקוק יֶחֱרֶ֤ה אַפְּךָ֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔ךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הוֹצֵ֙אתָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּכֹ֥חַ גָּד֖וֹל וּבְיָ֥ד חֲזָקָֽה׃ (יב) לָמָּה֩ יֹאמְר֨וּ מִצְרַ֜יִם לֵאמֹ֗ר בְּרָעָ֤ה הֽוֹצִיאָם֙ לַהֲרֹ֤ג אֹתָם֙ בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים וּ֨לְכַלֹּתָ֔ם מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה שׁ֚וּב מֵחֲר֣וֹן אַפֶּ֔ךָ וְהִנָּחֵ֥ם עַל־הָרָעָ֖ה לְעַמֶּֽךָ׃ (יג) זְכֹ֡ר לְאַבְרָהָם֩ לְיִצְחָ֨ק וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֣עְתָּ לָהֶם֮ בָּךְ֒ וַתְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אַרְבֶּה֙ אֶֽת־זַרְעֲכֶ֔ם כְּכוֹכְבֵ֖י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְכָל־הָאָ֨רֶץ הַזֹּ֜את אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמַ֗רְתִּי אֶתֵּן֙ לְזַרְעֲכֶ֔ם וְנָחֲל֖וּ לְעֹלָֽם׃ (יד) וַיִּנָּ֖חֶם יקוק עַל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לְעַמּֽוֹ׃ (פ)
(11) But Moses implored Hashem his God, saying, “Let not Your anger, O Lord, blaze forth against Your people, whom You delivered from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand. (12) Let not the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that He delivered them, only to kill them off in the mountains and annihilate them from the face of the earth.’ Turn from Your blazing anger, and renounce the plan to punish Your people. (13) Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, how You swore to them by Your Self and said to them: I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your offspring this whole land of which I spoke, to possess forever.” (14) And Hashem renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon His people.
(ד) וַיִּפְסֹ֡ל שְׁנֵֽי־לֻחֹ֨ת אֲבָנִ֜ים כָּרִאשֹׁנִ֗ים וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם מֹשֶׁ֤ה בַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ וַיַּ֙עַל֙ אֶל־הַ֣ר סִינַ֔י כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יקוק אֹת֑וֹ וַיִּקַּ֣ח בְּיָד֔וֹ שְׁנֵ֖י לֻחֹ֥ת אֲבָנִֽים׃ (ה) וַיֵּ֤רֶד יקוק בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֥ב עִמּ֖וֹ שָׁ֑ם וַיִּקְרָ֥א בְשֵׁ֖ם יקוק׃ (ו) וַיַּעֲבֹ֨ר יקוק ׀ עַל־פָּנָיו֮ וַיִּקְרָא֒ יקוק ׀ יקוק אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת ׀ (ז) נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֙סֶד֙ לָאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֺ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙ לֹ֣א יְנַקֶּ֔ה פֹּקֵ֣ד ׀ עֲוֺ֣ן אָב֗וֹת עַל־בָּנִים֙ וְעַל־בְּנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִֽים׃ (ח) וַיְמַהֵ֖ר מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיִּקֹּ֥ד אַ֖רְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ׃ (ט) וַיֹּ֡אמֶר אִם־נָא֩ מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אדושם יֵֽלֶךְ־נָ֥א אדושם בְּקִרְבֵּ֑נוּ כִּ֤י עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֙רֶף֙ ה֔וּא וְסָלַחְתָּ֛ לַעֲוֺנֵ֥נוּ וּלְחַטָּאתֵ֖נוּ וּנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ׃ (י) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֣ה אָנֹכִי֮ כֹּרֵ֣ת בְּרִית֒ נֶ֤גֶד כָּֽל־עַמְּךָ֙ אֶעֱשֶׂ֣ה נִפְלָאֹ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־נִבְרְא֥וּ בְכָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ וּבְכָל־הַגּוֹיִ֑ם וְרָאָ֣ה כָל־הָ֠עָם אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֨ה בְקִרְבּ֜וֹ אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂ֤ה יקוק כִּֽי־נוֹרָ֣א ה֔וּא אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י עֹשֶׂ֥ה עִמָּֽךְ׃
(4) So Moses carved two tablets of stone, like the first, and early in the morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as Hashem had commanded him, taking the two stone tablets with him. (5) Hashem came down in a cloud; He stood with him there, and proclaimed the name Hashem. (6) Hashem passed before him and proclaimed: “Hashem! Hashem! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, (7) extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.” (8) Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage, (9) and said, “If I have gained Your favor, O Hashem, pray, let the Lord go in our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!” (10) He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will work such wonders as have not been wrought on all the earth or in any nation; and all the people who are with you shall see how awesome are Hashem’s deeds which I will perform for you.
(6) Seek Hashem while He can be found, Call to Him while He is near. (7) Let the wicked give up his ways, The sinful man his plans; Let him turn back to Hashem, And He will pardon him; To our God, For he freely forgives. (8) For My plans are not your plans, Nor are My ways your ways —declares Hashem. (9) But as the heavens are high above the earth, So are My ways high above your ways And My plans above your plans. (10) For as the rain or snow drops from heaven And returns not there, But soaks the earth And makes it bring forth vegetation, Yielding seed for sowing and bread for eating, (11) So is the word that issues from My mouth: It does not come back to Me unfulfilled, But performs what I purpose, Achieves what I sent it to do. (12) Yea, you shall leave in joy and be led home secure. Before you, mount and hill shall shout aloud, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (13) Instead of the brier, a cypress shall rise; Instead of the nettle, a myrtle shall rise. These shall stand as a testimony to Hashem, As an everlasting sign that shall not perish. (1) Thus said Hashem: 1 Observe what is right and do what is just; For soon My salvation shall come, And my deliverance be revealed. (2) Happy is the man who does this, The man who holds fast to it: Who keeps the sabbath and does not profane it, And stays his hand from doing any evil. (3) Let not the foreigner say, Who has attached himself to Hashem, “Hashem will keep me apart from His people”; And let not the eunuch say, “I am a withered tree.” (4) For thus said Hashem: “As for the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, Who have chosen what I desire And hold fast to My covenant— (5) I will give them, in My House And within My walls, A monument and a name Better than sons or daughters. I will give them an everlasting name Which shall not perish. (6) As for the foreigners Who attach themselves to Hashem, To minister to Him, And to love the name of Hashem, To be His servants— All who keep the sabbath and do not profane it, And who hold fast to My covenant— (7) I will bring them to My sacred mount And let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices Shall be welcome on My altar; For My House shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.” (8) Thus declares the Lord Hashem, Who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather still more to those already gathered.”