Ezekiel 44

1 And he turned me back, toward the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary, which looked toward the east. And it was closed.

2 And the Lord said to me: “This gate will be closed; it will not be opened. And man shall not cross through it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it, and it shall be closed

3 to the prince. The prince himself will sit at it, so that he may eat bread before the Lord; he will enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will depart by the same way.”

4 And he led me in, along the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house. And I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. And I fell upon my face.

5 And the Lord said to me: “Son of man, set within your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking to you about all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord and about all its laws. And set your heart upon the ways of the temple, along all the exits of the sanctuary.

6 And you shall say to the house of Israel, which provokes me: Thus says the Lord God: Let all your wicked deeds be sufficient for you, O house of Israel.

7 For you bring in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may be in my sanctuary and may defile my house. And you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood, yet you have broken my covenant by all your wicked deeds.

8 And you have not observed the precepts of my sanctuary, yet you have stationed observers of my vigil in my sanctuary for yourselves.

9 Thus says the Lord God: Any foreigner, any foreign son who is in the midst of the sons of Israel, who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter into my sanctuary.

10 And as for the Levites, they have withdrawn far away from me, in the errors of the sons of Israel, and they have gone astray from me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.

11 They will be caretakers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers at the gates of the house, and ministers to the house. They will slay the holocausts and the victims of the people. And they will stand before them, so that they may minister to them.

12 But because they ministered to them in the sight their idols, and they became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, for this reason, I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear their iniquity.

13 And they shall not draw near to me, so as to exercise the priesthood for me, and they shall not approach to any of my holy things, which are near the Holy of Holies. Instead, they will bear their shame and their wicked deeds, which they committed.

14 And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all its ministries and for all that will be done within it.

15 But the priests and the Levites who are the sons of Zadok, who observed the ceremonies of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw near to me, so that they may minister for me. And they shall stand in my sight, so that they may offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.

16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table, so that they may minister for me, and so that they may observe my ceremonies.

17 And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. Neither shall anything woolen be placed over them, when they minister within the gates of the inner and the outer court.

18 They shall have linen bands on their heads, and linen undergarments over their loins, and they shall not be girded so as to sweat.

19 And when they go forth to the outer court to the people, they shall strip off their vestments, in which they ministered, and they shall place them in the storeroom of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments. And they shall not sanctify the people in their vestments.

20 Now they shall not shave their heads, and they shall not grow long hair. Instead, they shall trim the hair of their heads.

21 And no priest shall drink wine, when he will be entering into the inner court.

22 And they shall not take as wife a widow or one who has been divorced. Instead, they shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel. But they may also take a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.

23 And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and defiled, and they shall distinguish for them between clean and unclean.

24 And when there has been a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and they shall judge. They shall observe my laws and my precepts, in all my solemnities, and they shall sanctify my Sabbaths.

25 And they shall not enter to a dead person, lest they be defiled, except to father or mother, or son or daughter, or brother, or to a sister who does not have another man. By these, they may become unclean.

26 And after he will have been cleansed, they shall number for him seven days.

27 And on the day when he enters into the sanctuary, to the inner court, so that he may minister to me in the sanctuary, he shall make an offering because of his offense, says the Lord God.

28 And there shall be no inheritance for them. I am their inheritance. And you shall not give them any possession in Israel. For I am their possession.

29 They shall eat the victim both for sin and for offenses. And every vowed offering in Israel shall be theirs.

30 And the first-fruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations out of all that is offered, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first-fruits of your foods to the priest, so that he may return a blessing to your house.

31 The priests shall not consume anything which has died on its own, or which was seized by a beast, whether from the fowl or the cattle.”

Ezekiel 45

1 “And when you will begin to divide the land by lot, separate as first-fruits for the Lord a sanctified portion of the land, in length twenty-five thousand and in width ten thousand. It will be holy within all its borders all around.

2 And there shall be, out of the entire region, a sanctified portion of five hundred by five hundred, foursquare all around, with fifty cubits for its suburbs on all sides.

3 And with this measure, you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a width of ten thousand, and within it shall be the temple and the Holy of Holies.

4 The sanctified portion of the land shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who approach for the ministry of the Lord. And it shall be a place for their houses, and for the holy place of the sanctuary.

5 Now twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, who minister in the house. They shall possess twenty storerooms.

6 And you shall appoint a possession in the city of five thousand in width, and twenty-five thousand in length, in accord with the separation of the sanctuary, for the entire house of Israel.

7 Appoint the same for the prince, on one side and on the other, in the separation of the sanctuary, and in the possession of the city, opposite the face of the separation of the sanctuary, and opposite the face of the possession of the city, from the side of the sea even to the sea, and from the side of the east even to the east. And the length shall be just as in each part, from the western border even to the eastern border.

8 A portion of the land in Israel shall be for him. And the princes shall no longer plunder my people. Instead, they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

9 Thus says the Lord God: Let this be sufficient for you, O princes of Israel! Cease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice. Separate your confines from my people, says the Lord God.

10 You shall have just scales, and a just unit of dry measure, and a just unit of liquid measure.

11 The units of dry and liquid measure shall be one uniform measure, so that a bath contains one tenth part of a cor, and an ephah contains one tenth part of a cor; each shall be of equal volume in accord with the measure of a cor.

12 Now the shekel consists of twenty obols. Furthermore, twenty shekels, and twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels makes one mina.

13 And these are the first-fruits that you shall take: a sixth part of an ephah from each cor of wheat, and a sixth part of an ephah from each cor of barley.

14 Likewise, a measure of oil, a bath of oil, is one tenth part of a cor. And ten baths make one cor. For ten baths complete one cor.

15 And take one ram from each flock of two hundred, out of those that Israel tends for sacrifice and holocausts and peace offerings, in order to make an expiation for them, says the Lord God.

16 All the people of the land will take hold of these first-fruits for the prince in Israel.

17 And concerning the prince, there shall be holocausts and sacrifice and libations, on solemnities and new moons and Sabbaths, and on all the solemnities of the house of Israel. He himself shall offer the sacrifice for sin, and the holocaust, and the peace offerings, in order to make expiation for the house of Israel.

18 Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take an immaculate calf from the herd, and you shall expiate the sanctuary.

19 And the priest shall take from the blood that will be for the sin offering. And he shall place it on the doorposts of the house, and on the four corners of the rim of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.

20 And so shall you do on the seventh day of the month, on behalf of each one who was ignorant or who was deceived by error. And you shall make expiation for the house.

21 In the first month, the fourteenth day of the month shall be for you the solemnity of the Passover. For seven days, unleavened bread shall be eaten.

22 And on that day, the prince shall offer, on behalf of himself and on behalf of all the people of the land, a calf for sin.

23 And during the solemnity of the seven days, he shall offer a holocaust to the Lord of seven immaculate calves and seven immaculate rams, daily for seven days, and a he-goat from among the she-goats, daily for sin.

24 And he shall offer the sacrifice of an ephah for each calf, and an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil for every ephah.

25 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, during the solemnities, he shall do just as was said above for the seven days, as much for the sin offering, as for the holocaust and sacrifice and oil.”

Ezekiel 46

1 Thus says the Lord God: “The gate of the inner court which looks toward the east shall be closed for the six days on which work is done. Then, on the Sabbath day, it shall be opened. But also on the day of the new moon, it shall be opened.

2 And the prince shall enter from outside, by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he shall stand at the threshold of the gate. And the priests shall offer his holocaust and his peace offerings. And he shall adore upon the threshold of the gate, and then depart. But the gate shall not be closed until evening.

3 And the people of the land shall adore at the entrance of the same gate, on the Sabbaths and on the new moons, in the sight of the Lord.

4 Now this holocaust, which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day, shall be six immaculate lambs, and one immaculate ram.

5 The sacrifice shall be one ephah for each ram. But for the lambs, the sacrifice shall be whatever his hand shall give. And there shall be one hin of oil for each ephah.

6 Then, on the day of the new moon, he shall offer one immaculate calf from the herd. Both the six lambs and the rams shall be immaculate.

7 And he shall offer the sacrifice of one ephah for each calf, and also one ephah for each ram. But for the lambs, it shall be just as his hand will find. And there shall be one hin of oil for each ephah.

8 And when the prince will enter, let him enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and let him go out by the same way.

9 And when the people of the land will enter in the sight of the Lord on the solemnities, whoever enters by the north gate so that he may adore, shall depart by the way of the south gate. And whoever enters by the way of the south gate shall depart by the way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he entered. Instead, he shall depart from the direction opposite to it.

10 But the prince in their midst shall enter when they enter, and he shall depart when they depart.

11 And during the feasts and the solemnities, there shall be the sacrifice of one ephah for each calf, and one ephah for each ram. But for the lambs, the sacrifice shall be just as his hand will find. And there shall be one hin of oil for each ephah.

12 But when the prince will offer a voluntary holocaust or a voluntary peace offering to the Lord, the gate which looks toward the east shall be opened to him. And he shall offer his holocaust and his peace offerings, just as is usually done on the Sabbath day. And he shall depart, and the gate shall be closed after he has gone out.

13 And daily he shall offer, as a holocaust to the Lord, an immaculate lamb of the same age. He shall offer it always in the morning.

14 And he shall offer as a sacrifice with it, morning after morning, one sixth part of an ephah, and one third part of a hin of oil, to be mixed with the fine flour, as a sacrifice to the Lord, by a continual and everlasting ordinance.

15 He shall offer the lamb and the sacrifice and the oil, morning after morning, as an everlasting holocaust.

16 Thus says the Lord God: If the prince grants a gift to any of his sons, the inheritance of it will go to his sons; they shall possess it as an inheritance.

17 But if he grants a legacy from his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his only until the year of remission, and then it shall be returned to the prince. For his inheritance shall go to his sons.

18 And the prince shall not take from the inheritance of the people by force, nor from their possession. Instead, from his own possession, he shall give an inheritance to his sons, so that my people will not be scattered, each one from his possession.”

19 And he led me in by the entrance which was at the side of the gate, into the storerooms of the sanctuary for the priests, which looked toward the north. And there was a place there which verged toward the west.

20 And he said to me: “This is the place where the priests will cook the offering for sin and the offering for trespasses. Here, they shall cook the sacrifice, so that they need not carry it to the outer court, and so that the people may be sanctified.”

21 And he led me away to the outer court, and he led me around by the four corners of the court. And behold, there was a little atrium at the corner of the court; a little atrium was at each corner of the court.

22 At the four corners of the court, little atriums were positioned, forty cubits in length, and thirty in width; each of the four were of the same measure.

23 And there was a wall all around, encircling the four little atriums. And kitchens had been constructed under the porticos on all sides.

24 And he said to me: “This is the house of the kitchens, in which the ministers of the house of the Lord will cook the victims of the people.”

Ezekiel 47

1 And he turned me back to the gate of the house. And behold, waters went out, from under the threshold of the house, toward the east. For the face of the house looked toward the east. But the waters descended on the right side of the temple, toward the south of the altar.

2 And he led me out, along the way of the north gate, and he turned me back toward the way outside the exterior gate, the way which looked toward the east. And behold, the waters overflowed on the right side.

3 Then the man who held the rope in his hand departed toward the east, and he measured one thousand cubits. And he led me forward, through the water, up to the ankles.

4 And again he measured one thousand, and he led me forward, through the water, up to the knees.

5 And he measured one thousand, and he led me forward, through the water, up to the waist. And he measured one thousand, into a torrent, through which I was not able to pass. For the waters had risen to become a profound torrent, which was not able to be crossed.

6 And he said to me: “Son of man, certainly you have seen.” And he led me out, and he turned me back to the bank of the torrent.

7 And when I had turned myself around, behold, on the bank of the torrent, there were very many trees on both sides.

8 And he said to me: “These waters, which go forth toward the hillocks of sand to the east, and which descend to the plains of the desert, will enter the sea, and will go out, and the waters will be healed.

9 And every living soul that moves, wherever the torrent arrives, will live. And there will be more than enough fish, after these waters have arrived there, and they will be healed. And all things will live, where the torrent arrives.

10 And fishermen will stand over these waters. There will be the drying of nets, from Engedi even to Eneglaim. There will be very many kinds of fish within it: a very great multitude, like the fish of the great sea.

11 But on its shore and in the marshes, they will not be healed. For these will be made into salt pits.

12 And above the torrent, on its banks on both sides, every kind of fruit tree will rise up. Their foliage will not fall away, and their fruit will not fail. Every single month they will bring forth first-fruits. For its waters will go forth from the sanctuary. And its fruits will be for food, and its leaves will be for medicine.”

13 Thus says the Lord God: “This is the border, by which you shall possess the land, in accord with the twelve tribes of Israel. For Joseph shall have a double portion.

14 And you shall possess it, each one in equal manner as his brother. I lifted up my hand over it, so that I might give it to your fathers. And this land shall fall to you as a possession.

15 Now this is the border of the land toward the northern region, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, arriving at Zedad:

16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the confines of Hamath, the house of Ticon, which is beside the border of Hauran,

17 and the border will be from the sea, even to the entrance of Enon, at the border of Damascus, and from the north to the north, at the border of Hamath, on the northern side.

18 Moreover, the eastern region will be from the midst of Hauran, and from the midst of Damascus, and from the midst of Gilead, and from the midst of the land of Israel, to the Jordan, marking the boundary to the eastern sea. For so shall you measure the eastern region.

19 Now the southern region, toward the meridian, will be from Tamar, even to the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh, and from the Torrent, even to the great sea. And this is the southern region, toward the meridian.

20 And the region toward the sea will have its confines from the great sea continuing directly until one arrives at Hamath. This is the region of the sea.

21 And you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

22 And you shall distribute it by lot as an inheritance, for yourselves and for the new arrival who will be added to you, who will conceive sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the indigenous among the sons of Israel. They shall divide the possession with you, in the midst of the tribes of Israel.

23 And in whatever tribe the new arrival will be, there you shall give a possession to him, says the Lord God.”

Ezekiel 48

1 “And these are the names of the tribes, from the parts of the north, beside the way of Hethlon, continuing on to Hamath, at the entrance of Enon, to the border of Damascus toward the north, beside the way of Hamath. And from the region of the east to the sea, there will be one portion for Dan.

2 And beyond the border of Dan, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Asher.

3 And beyond the border of Asher, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Naphtali.

4 And beyond the border of Naphtali, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Manasseh.

5 And beyond the border of Manasseh, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Ephraim.

6 And beyond the border of Ephraim, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Reuben.

7 And beyond the border of Reuben, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Judah.

8 And beyond the border of Judah, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be the first-fruits, which you shall separate, twenty-five thousand in width, and in length, the same as each one of the portions from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea. And the sanctuary shall be in its midst.

9 The first-fruits, which you shall separate to the Lord, shall be, in length, twenty-five thousand, and in width, ten thousand.

10 And these shall be the first-fruits for the sanctuary of the priests: toward the north, in length, twenty-five thousand, and toward the sea, in width, ten thousand, but also, toward the east, in width, ten thousand, and toward the south, in length, twenty-five thousand. And the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst.

11 The sanctuary shall be for the priests from the sons of Zadok, who observed my ceremonies and did not go astray, when the sons of Israel went astray, just as the Levites also went astray.

12 And so the foremost of the first-fruits of the land, the Holy of Holies, beside the border of the Levites, shall be for them.

13 But also the Levites, similarly, shall have, beside the borders of the priests, twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in width. The entire length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the width shall be ten thousand.

14 And they shall not sell from it, nor exchange, and the first-fruits of the land shall not be transferred. For these have been sanctified to the Lord.

15 But the five thousand that is left over, out of the twenty-five thousand in width, will be a profane place of the city for dwelling and for the suburbs. And the city shall be in the center.

16 And these shall be its measurements: on the northern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the southern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the eastern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the western side, four thousand and five hundred.

17 But the suburbs of the city shall be: to the north, two hundred and fifty; and to the south, two hundred and fifty; and to the east, two hundred and fifty; and to the sea, two hundred and fifty.

18 Now what will remain of the length, in accord with the first-fruits of the sanctuary, ten thousand in the east, and ten thousand in the west, shall be as the first-fruits of the sanctuary. And its produce will be for the bread of those who serve the city.

19 And those who serve the city will be taken from all the tribes of Israel.

20 All the first-fruits, of the twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand square, shall be separated as the first-fruits of the sanctuary and as the possession of the city.

21 And what will remain shall be for the prince out of every portion of the first-fruits of the sanctuary and of the possession of the city, from the region of the twenty-five thousand of the first-fruits, even to the eastern border. But also to the sea from the region of the twenty-five thousand, even to the border of the sea, similarly shall be the portion of the prince. And the first-fruits of the sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the temple, shall be in its center.

22 Now from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, which are in the midst of the prince’s portions, whatever is between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall also belong to the prince.

23 And for the remainder of the tribes, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Benjamin.

24 And opposite the border of Benjamin, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Simeon.

25 And beyond the border of Simeon, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Issachar.

26 And beyond the border of Issachar, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Zebulun.

27 And beyond the border of Zebulun, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Gad.

28 And beyond the border of Gad, toward the southern region, in the meridian, the last part shall be from Tamar, even to the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh, as the inheritance opposite the great sea.

29 This is the land that you shall distribute by lot to the tribes of Israel, and these shall be their portions, says the Lord God.

30 And these shall be the exits of the city: from the northern region, you shall measure four thousand and five hundred.

31 And the gates of the city shall be according to the names of the tribes of Israel. There shall be three gates from the north: the gate of Reuben one, the gate of Judah one, the gate of Levi one.

32 And to the eastern region, there shall be four thousand and five hundred. And there shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph one, the gate of Benjamin one, the gate of Dan one.

33 And to the southern region, you shall measure four thousand and five hundred. And there shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon one, the gate of Issachar one, the gate of Zebulun one.

34 And to the western region, there shall be four thousand and five hundred, and their three gates: the gate of Gad one, the gate of Asher one, the gate of Naphtali one.

35 Along circumference, there shall be eighteen thousand. And the name of the city, from that day, shall be: ‘The Lord is in that very place.’ “

Lamentations 1

1 ALEPH. O how a city once filled with people now sits alone! The Governess of the Gentiles has become like a widow. The Prince of the provinces has been placed under tribute.

2 BETH. Weeping, she has wept through the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. There is no one to be a comfort to her and to all her beloved. All her friends have spurned her, and they have become her enemies.

3 GHIMEL. Judah has migrated because of affliction and great servitude. She has lived among the nations and not found rest. All of her persecutors have apprehended her, amid torments.

4 DALETH. The pathways of Zion mourn, because there are none who approach for the solemnity. All her gates are destroyed. Her priests groan. Her virgins are filthy. And she is overwhelmed with bitterness.

5 HE. Her enemies have been made her leaders; her adversaries have been enriched. For the Lord has spoken against her, because of the multitude of her iniquities. Her little ones have been led into captivity before the face of the tribulator.

6 VAU. And all her elegance has departed, from the daughter of Zion. Her leaders have become like rams that cannot find pasture, and they have gone away without strength before the face of the pursuer.

7 ZAIN. Jerusalem has remembered the days of her affliction and the betrayal of all her desirable ones, whom she held from the days of antiquity, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and there was no one to be a helper. The enemies have looked upon her and mocked her Sabbaths.

8 HETH. Jerusalem has sinned a grievous sin. Because of this, she has become unstable. All who glorified her have spurned her, because they have looked upon her disgrace. Then she groaned and turned away again.

9 TETH. Her filth is on her feet, and her end has not been remembered. She has been vehemently put down, having no consolation. O Lord, look upon my affliction, for the adversary has been lifted up.

10 JOD. The enemy has sent his hand against all her desirable ones. For she has watched the Gentiles enter her sanctuary, even though you instructed that they should not enter into your church.

11 CAPH. All her people are groaning and seeking bread. They have given up whatever was precious in exchange for food, so as to remain alive. See, O Lord, and consider, for I have become vile.

12 LAMED. O all you who pass by the way, attend, and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. For he has made me a vintage, just as the Lord has spoken in the day of his furious anger.

13 MEM. From on high, he has sent fire into my bones, and he has educated me. He has spread a net for my feet; he has turned me back. He has placed me in desolation, consumed by grief, all day long.

14 NUN. Vigilant is the yoke of my iniquities. They have been folded together in his hand and imposed on my neck. My virtue has been weakened. The Lord has given me into a hand, out of which I am not able to rise.

15 SAMECH. The Lord has taken away all of my great ones from my midst. He has called forth time against me, so as to crush my elect ones. The Lord has trampled the winepress, which was for the virgin daughter of Judah.

16 AIN. For this I weep, and my eyes bring forth water. For the consoler has been far away from me, changing my soul. My sons have become lost, because the enemy has prevailed.

17 PHE. Zion has reached out her hands; there is no one to console her. The Lord has given orders against Jacob; his enemies are all around him. Jerusalem among them is like a woman made unclean by menstruation.

18 SADE. The Lord is just, for it is I who has provoked his mouth to wrath. I beg all people to listen and to see my sorrow. My virgins and my youths have gone into captivity.

19 COPH. I called for my friends, but they deceived me. My priests and my elders have been consumed in the city. For they were seeking their food, so as to revive their life.

20 RES. See, O Lord, that I am in tribulation. My bowels have been disturbed, my heart has been subverted within me, for I am filled with bitterness. Outside, the sword puts to death, and at home there is a similar death.

21 SIN. They have heard that I groan and that there is no one to console me. All my enemies have heard of my misfortune; they have rejoiced that you caused it. You have brought in a day of consolation, and so they shall become like me.

22 THAU. Let all their evil enter before you. And make vintage of them, just as you made vintage of me, because of all my iniquities. For my sighs are many, and my heart is grieving.

Lamentations 2

1 ALEPH. O how the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with gloom in his fury! O how he has thrown down from heaven to earth the famous one of Israel, and he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his fury.

2 BETH. The Lord has cast down, and he has not been lenient, with all the beauties of Jacob. In his fury, he has destroyed the fortifications of the virgin of Judah, and he has thrown them down to the ground. He has polluted the kingdom and its leaders.

3 GHIMEL. In the anger of his fury, he has broken the entire horn of Israel. He has drawn back his right hand before the face of the enemy. And he has kindled within Jacob a flaming fire, devouring all around.

4 DALETH. He has bent his bow like an enemy. He has fixed his right hand like an adversary. And he has cut down all that was beautiful to behold in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion. He has poured out his indignation like fire.

5 HE. The Lord has become like an enemy. He has thrown down Israel. He has thrown down all of his defenses. He has torn apart his fortifications. And he has filled the daughter of Judah with humbled men and humbled women.

6 VAU. And he has torn apart her tent like a garden. He has demolished her tabernacle. In Zion, the Lord has delivered feast and Sabbath into oblivion, and king and priest into disgrace, and into the indignation of his fury.

7 ZAIN. The Lord has pushed away his own altar. He has cursed his own sanctuary. He has delivered the walls of its towers into the hand of the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as if on the day of a solemnity.

8 HETH. The Lord has decided to tear down the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out his measuring line, and he has not turn away his hand from perdition. And the rampart has mourned, and with the wall it has been torn apart.

9 TETH. Her gates have been buried in the ground. He has ruined and crushed its bars. Her king and her princes are with the Gentiles. There is no law, and her prophets have found no vision from the Lord.

10 JOD. The elders of the daughter of Zion have become idle; they sit on the ground. They have sprinkled their heads with ashes. They have been wrapped with haircloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have cast their heads down to the ground.

11 CAPH. My eyes have exhausted their tears. My internal organs have become disturbed. My liver has been poured out on the earth, over the grief of the daughter of my people, when the little ones and the infants passed away in the streets of the town.

12 LAMED. They said to their mothers, “Where is the wheat and the wine?” when they fell like the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their lives into the bosoms of their mothers.

13 MEM. To what shall I compare you, or to what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, so as to console you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your destruction is as great as the sea. Who will cure you?

14 NUN. Your prophets have seen false and foolish things for you. And they have not laid open your iniquity, so as to provoke you to repentance. Yet they have seen for you false revelations and banishments.

15 SAMECH. All those who passed by the way have clapped their hands over you. They have hissed and shook their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city of perfect dignity, the joy of all the earth?”

16 PHE. All your enemies have opened their mouth over you. They have hissed and gnashed their teeth, and they said: “We will devour her. Yes, this is the day we waited for. We have found it, we have seen it.”

17 AIN. The Lord has done what he decided to do. He has fulfilled his word, which he instructed since the days of antiquity. He has destroyed, and he has not been lenient, and he has caused the enemy to rejoice over you, and he has exalted the horn of your adversaries.

18 SADE. Their heart cried out to the Lord from the walls of the daughter of Zion. Let tears run down like a torrent throughout the day and the night. Do not give rest to yourself, and do not allow the pupil of your eye to cease.

19 COPH. Rise up. Give praise in the night, in the first of the watches. Pour out your heart like water before the sight of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him on behalf of the souls of your little ones, who have passed away from famine at the head of all the crossroads.

20 RES. O Lord, see and consider those whom you have made into a such vintage. So then, shall women eat their own fruit, little ones measured by the palm of the hand? Shall priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 SIN. The boy and the old man lie down on the ground outside. My virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your fury. You have struck down, and you have not shown pity.

22 THAU. You have called, as if to a day of solemnity, those who would terrify me all around. And there was no one, in the day of the fury of the Lord, who escaped or was left behind. Those whom I educated and nourished, my enemy has consumed.

Lamentations 3

1 ALEPH. I am a man watching my own poverty by the rod of his indignation.

2 ALEPH. He has driven me and led me into darkness, and not into light.

3 ALEPH. Against me only, he has turned and turned again his hand, all day long.

4 BETH. My skin and my flesh, he has made old; he has crushed my bones.

5 BETH. He has built all around me, and he has encircled me with gall and hardship.

6 BETH. He has gathered me into darkness, like those who are forever dead.

7 GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.

8 GHIMEL. Yet even when I cry out and beg, he excludes my prayer.

9 GHIMEL. He has enclosed my ways with square stones; he has subverted my paths.

10 DALETH. He has become to me like a bear lying in ambush, like a lion in hiding.

11 DALETH. He has subverted my paths, and he has broken me. He has placed me in desolation.

12 DALETH. He has bent his bow, and he has positioned me like a target for his arrows.

13 HE. He has shot into my kidneys the daughters of his quiver.

14 HE. I have become a derision to all my people, their song throughout the day.

15 HE. He has filled me with bitterness; he has inebriated me with wormwood.

16 VAU. And he has broken each one of my teeth; he has fed me with ashes.

17 VAU. And my soul has been driven away from peace; I have forgotten what is good.

18 VAU. And I said, “My end and my hope from the Lord has perished.”

19 ZAIN. Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall.

20 ZAIN. I will call to mind the past, and my soul shall languish within me.

21 ZAIN. These recollections are in my heart; therefore, I shall hope.

22 HETH. By the mercies of the Lord, we are not consumed. For his compassion has not passed away.

23 HETH. I know it at first light; great is your faithfulness.

24 HETH. “The Lord is my portion,” said my soul. Because of this, I will wait for him.

25 TETH. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.

26 TETH. It is good to stand ready in silence for the salvation of God.

27 TETH. It is good for a man, when he has carried the yoke from his youth.

28 JOD. He shall sit solitary and silent. For he has lifted it upon himself.

29 JOD. He shall place his mouth in the dirt, if perhaps there may be hope.

30 JOD. He shall give his cheek to those who strike him; he shall be saturated with reproaches.

31 CAPH. For the Lord will not rebuke forever.

32 CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 CAPH. For he has not humiliated from his heart, nor has he thrown aside the sons of men,

34 LAMED. as if to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,

35 LAMED. as if to turn aside the judgment of a man in the sight of the presence of the Most High,

36 LAMED. as if to pervert a man in his judgment: the Lord does not do this.

37 MEM. Who is this, who said to do what the Lord did not command?

38 MEM. Does not both misfortune and good proceed from the mouth of the Most High?

39 MEM. Why has a living man murmured, a man suffering for his sins?

40 NUN. Let us examine our ways, and seek out, and return to the Lord.

41 NUN. Let us lift up our hearts, with our hands, toward the Lord in the heavens.

42 NUN. We have acted sinfully, and we have provoked to wrath. About this, you are relentless.

43 SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.

44 SAMECH. You have set a cloud opposite you, lest our prayer pass through.

45 SAMECH. In the midst of the peoples, you have uprooted me and cast me out.

46 PHE. All our enemies have opened their mouths over us.

47 PHE. Prediction has become for us a dread, and a snare, and a grief.

48 PHE. My eye has brought forth streams of water at the contrition of the daughter of my people.

49 AIN. My eye has been afflicted, and it has not been quieted, because there would be no rest

50 AIN. until the Lord looked down and saw from the heavens.

51 AIN. My eye has exhausted my soul over every one of the daughters of my city.

52 SADE. My enemies have chased me, and they have caught me like a bird, without reason.

53 SADE. My life has fallen into a pit, and they have placed a stone over me.

54 SADE. The waters have flooded over my head. I said, “I am lost.”

55 COPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, from the furthest pit.

56 COPH. You have heard my voice. Do not turn away your ear from my sobbing and my cries.

57 COPH. You drew near in the daytime, when I called upon you. You said, “Fear not.”

58 RES. You have judged, O Lord, the case of my soul. You are the Redeemer of my life.

59 RES. You have seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me. Judge my case.

60 RES. You have seen all their fury, every one of their thoughts is against me.

61 SIN. You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their thoughts are against me.

62 SIN. The lips of those who rise up against me, and their meditations, are against me all day long.

63 SIN. Watch their sitting down and their rising up: I am their psalm.

64 THAU. You shall pay a recompense to them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.

65 THAU. You shall give them a heavy shield of the heart: your hardship.

66 THAU. You shall pursue them in fury, and you shall destroy them under the heavens, O Lord.

Lamentations 4

1 ALEPH. O how the gold has become dulled, the finest color has been altered, the stones of the sanctuary have been scattered at the head of every street.

2 BETH. The famous sons of Zion, and those clothed with the foremost gold: how they have become like earthen vessels, the work of the hands of a potter.

3 GHIMEL. Yet even savages expose their breast and give milk to their young. But the daughter of my people is cruel, like the ostrich in the desert.

4 DALETH. The tongue of the infant adheres to his palate out of thirst. The little ones have asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them.

5 HE. Those who were fed indulgently have passed away in the roads. Those who were nourished with saffron have welcomed filth.

6 VAU. And the iniquity of the daughter of my people has been made greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and yet hands did not take captives in her.

7 ZAIN. Her Nazirites were whiter than snow, shinier than milk, more ruddy than ancient ivory, more beautiful than sapphire.

8 HETH. Their face has been blacked more than coals, and they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has adhered to their bones; it dried out and became like wood.

9 TETH. It was better for those slain by the sword, than for those put to death by famine. For these waste away, being consumed by the sterility of the land.

10 JOD. The hands of pitiable women have boiled their sons. They became their food in the grief of the daughter of my people.

11 CAPH. The Lord has completed his fury; he has poured out the wrath of his indignation. And he has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations.

12 LAMED. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, did not believe that the adversary and the enemy would enter through the gates of Jerusalem.

13 MEM. It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, who have shed the blood of the just in her midst.

14 NUN. They have wandered in the streets like the blind; they have been defiled with blood. And when they were not able, they held their garments.

15 SAMECH. “Go back, you polluted ones!” they cried out to them. “Go back, go away, do not touch!” Of course, they argued, and being removed, they said among the Gentiles, “He will no longer dwell among them.”

16 PHE. The face of the Lord has divided them. He will no longer respect them. They were not ashamed before the faces of the priests, nor did they take pity on the elderly.

17 AIN. While we were still standing, our eyes failed, expecting help for us in vain, when we looked attentively toward a nation that was not able to save.

18 SADE. Our footsteps have slipped on the paths of our own streets. Our end draws near. Our days have been completed, for our end has arrived.

19 COPH. Our persecutors have been swifter than the eagles of the sky. They have been pursuing us above the mountains; they have lain in wait for us in the desert.

20 RES. The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, has been captured by our sins; to him, we said, “In your shadow, we will live among the Gentiles.”

21 SIN. Be glad and rejoice, O daughter of Edom, who dwells in the Land of Uz. The cup will also pass to you; you will be inebriated as well as naked.

22 THAU. Your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion. He will no longer send you away to captivity. He has visited your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he has uncovered your sins.

Lamentations 5

1 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us. Consider and look kindly upon our disgrace.

2 Our inheritance has been turned over to foreigners; our houses to outsiders.

3 We have become orphans without a father; our mothers are like widows.

4 We paid for our drinking water. We acquired our wood for a price.

5 We were dragged by our necks. Being weary, no rest was given to us.

6 We have given our hand to Egypt and to the Assyrians, so that we may be satisfied with bread.

7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not. And we have carried their iniquities.

8 Servants have become rulers over us. There was no one to redeem us from their hand.

9 We obtained our bread at the risk of our lives, before the face of the sword, in the wilderness.

10 Our skin was burned, as if by an oven, before the face of the tempest of the famine.

11 They humiliated the women in Zion and the virgins in the cities of Judah.

12 The leaders were suspended by their hand. They were not ashamed before the faces of the elders.

13 They have sexually abused the adolescents, and the children were corrupted in the wood.

14 The elders have ceased from the gates, the youths from the choir of the psalms.

15 The gladness of our heart has failed, our singing has been turned into mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned.

17 Because of this, our heart became gloomy; for this reason, our eyes have been darkened:

18 because of mount Zion, because it was ruined. Foxes have wandered upon it.

19 But you, O Lord, shall remain for eternity, your throne from generation to generation.

20 Why would you forget us forever? Why would you forsake us for a long time?

21 Convert us, O Lord, to you, and we shall be converted. Renew our days, as from the beginning.

22 But you have utterly rejected us; you are vehemently angry against us.