Lamentations 1 – NIV & BPH

New International Version

Lamentations 1:1-22

This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. 1How deserted lies the city,

once so full of people!

How like a widow is she,

who once was great among the nations!

She who was queen among the provinces

has now become a slave.

2Bitterly she weeps at night,

tears are on her cheeks.

Among all her lovers

there is no one to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

3After affliction and harsh labor,

Judah has gone into exile.

She dwells among the nations;

she finds no resting place.

All who pursue her have overtaken her

in the midst of her distress.

4The roads to Zion mourn,

for no one comes to her appointed festivals.

All her gateways are desolate,

her priests groan,

her young women grieve,

and she is in bitter anguish.

5Her foes have become her masters;

her enemies are at ease.

The Lord has brought her grief

because of her many sins.

Her children have gone into exile,

captive before the foe.

6All the splendor has departed

from Daughter Zion.

Her princes are like deer

that find no pasture;

in weakness they have fled

before the pursuer.

7In the days of her affliction and wandering

Jerusalem remembers all the treasures

that were hers in days of old.

When her people fell into enemy hands,

there was no one to help her.

Her enemies looked at her

and laughed at her destruction.

8Jerusalem has sinned greatly

and so has become unclean.

All who honored her despise her,

for they have all seen her naked;

she herself groans

and turns away.

9Her filthiness clung to her skirts;

she did not consider her future.

Her fall was astounding;

there was none to comfort her.

“Look, Lord, on my affliction,

for the enemy has triumphed.”

10The enemy laid hands

on all her treasures;

she saw pagan nations

enter her sanctuary—

those you had forbidden

to enter your assembly.

11All her people groan

as they search for bread;

they barter their treasures for food

to keep themselves alive.

“Look, Lord, and consider,

for I am despised.”

12“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?

Look around and see.

Is any suffering like my suffering

that was inflicted on me,

that the Lord brought on me

in the day of his fierce anger?

13“From on high he sent fire,

sent it down into my bones.

He spread a net for my feet

and turned me back.

He made me desolate,

faint all the day long.

14“My sins have been bound into a yoke1:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint He kept watch over my sins;

by his hands they were woven together.

They have been hung on my neck,

and the Lord has sapped my strength.

He has given me into the hands

of those I cannot withstand.

15“The Lord has rejected

all the warriors in my midst;

he has summoned an army against me

to1:15 Or has set a time for me / when he will crush my young men.

In his winepress the Lord has trampled

Virgin Daughter Judah.

16“This is why I weep

and my eyes overflow with tears.

No one is near to comfort me,

no one to restore my spirit.

My children are destitute

because the enemy has prevailed.”

17Zion stretches out her hands,

but there is no one to comfort her.

The Lord has decreed for Jacob

that his neighbors become his foes;

Jerusalem has become

an unclean thing among them.

18“The Lord is righteous,

yet I rebelled against his command.

Listen, all you peoples;

look on my suffering.

My young men and young women

have gone into exile.

19“I called to my allies

but they betrayed me.

My priests and my elders

perished in the city

while they searched for food

to keep themselves alive.

20“See, Lord, how distressed I am!

I am in torment within,

and in my heart I am disturbed,

for I have been most rebellious.

Outside, the sword bereaves;

inside, there is only death.

21“People have heard my groaning,

but there is no one to comfort me.

All my enemies have heard of my distress;

they rejoice at what you have done.

May you bring the day you have announced

so they may become like me.

22“Let all their wickedness come before you;

deal with them

as you have dealt with me

because of all my sins.

My groans are many

and my heart is faint.”

Bibelen på hverdagsdansk

Klagesangene 1:1-22

Jerusalem i sorg

1Ak ja, den travle by er nu folketom.

Den storslåede by sidder tilbage som en fattig enke.

Dronningen blandt byer blev degraderet til tjenestepige.

2Byen jamrer og græder natten lang.

Ingen kommer for at trøste hende i sorgen.

Alle de gamle venner har svigtet hende.

3Det judæiske folk blev mishandlet og ført bort som slaver.

De vansmægter nu i det fremmede uden at finde hvile.

De kunne ikke undslippe, da fjenden oversvømmede byen.

4Efter at templet blev ødelagt, er det forbi med højtid og fest.

Vejene op til Jerusalem er øde, og byens gader tomme.

Præsterne sørger, pigerne græder, hele byen er fortvivlet.

5Fjenderne gik af med sejren og plyndrede byen.

Det var Herrens straf for al folkets ulydighed.

Alle byens indbyggere blev ført bort som slaver.

6Glansen er fuldstændig gået af den før så herlige by.

Byens ledere var udhungrede som hjorte, der forgæves leder efter føde.

De var for udmattede til at undslippe deres forfølgere.

7Hjemløs og fattig sidder Jerusalem og mindes de skatte, hun1,7 Byer er i bibelsk poesi altid hunkøn. har mistet.

Ingen af hendes venner kom hende til hjælp mod fjendens angreb.

Hun blev hånet og spottet af den overlegne fjende.

8Ingen vil længere se op til Jerusalem, som de gjorde engang.

Hun blev ydmyget og plyndret på grund af sine mange synder.

Nu sidder hun og jamrer, afklædt og skamfuld.

9Jerusalem var utro mod Herren uden at tænke på følgerne.

Hun fik en frygtelig straf, og der er ingen, der trøster hende.

„Se min elendighed!” råber hun til Herren. „Min fjende foragter mig!”

10Katastrofen er ikke til at bære, for alt er tabt.

Ikke alene blev alle byens værdier plyndret,

men fremmede folkeslag brød ind i templet og vanhelligede det.

11Lidelsen ramte alle, som boede i byen.

Hungersnøden tvang dem til at sælge deres sidste ejendele for lidt mad.

Byen råber i sin nød: „Ak, Herre, se dog, hvor foragtet jeg er!

12Mon der findes en større smerte end min?

Hvad mener I, der står og ser på min ulykke?

Det er jo Herren selv, der har sendt sin straf.

13Nettet blev kastet ud over mig, og han fangede mig i fælden.

Dommen kom ned fra himlen som en fortærende ild.

Ensom og forladt sidder jeg her i min stadige pine.

14Om halsen på mig ligger en byrde, som tynger mig til jorden.

Alle mine synder har han lagt som et åg på mine skuldre.

Jeg kunne intet gøre mod de mægtige fjender, han sendte.

15På slagmarken ligger mine døde, tapre krigere.

Han sendte en mægtig hær mod mine unge soldater.

Han trampede på os, som man tramper druer i vinpersen.

16Resultatet er en stadig strøm af tårer.

Der er ingen til at trøste og hjælpe mig.

Alt er håbløst, for fjenden har besejret os totalt.”

17Selv om byen beder om nåde, er der ingen trøst at hente.

Det var Herren, der befalede nabofolkene at gå imod Israel.

De ser nu på Jerusalem som det værste skidt.

18„Trods mine lidelser,” siger Jerusalem, „ved jeg, at Herrens dom var retfærdig,

for vi gjorde oprør imod alle hans befalinger.

Forstå min smerte, alle I folkeslag: Mine indbyggere er ført bort som slaver.

19Uanset mit råb om hjælp blev jeg svigtet af mine nærmeste venner.

Mine præster og ledere bukkede under for hungersnøden,

forgæves søgte de efter mad nok til at overleve.

20Vær mig nådig, Herre, for jeg erkender min synd.

De, der vovede sig ud på gaden, blev dræbt af sværdet,

men de, der blev inde i husene, bukkede under for sulten.

21Ynkelige suk er alt, hvad jeg kan ytre, og der kommer ingen for at trøste mig.

Mine fjender fryder sig over den dom, du har afsagt over mig.

Gid du snart vil fælde dom over dem, ligesom du dømte mig.

22Åh, Herre, glem ikke al deres ondskab!

Straf dem, som du har straffet mig!

Mit hjerte er fuldt af sorg, og jeg sukker konstant.”