W H Y - O H - I S R A E L ?

Isaiah 30
1 "Woe to My rebellious children," says ETERNAL; "you ask advice from everyone but Me and decide to do what I don't want you to do. You yoke yourselves with unbelievers, thus piling up your sins. 2 For without consulting Me you have gone down to Egypt to find aid and have put your trust in Pharaoh for his protection. 3 But in trusting Pharaoh, you will be disappointed, humiliated and disgraced, for he can't deliver on his promises to save you. 4 For though his power extends to Zoan and Hanes, 5 yet it will all turn out to your shame--he won't help one little bit!"
6 "See them moving slowly across the terrible desert to Egypt--donkeys and camels laden down with treasure to pay for Egypt's aid. On through the badlands they go, where lions and swift venomous snakes live--and Egypt will give you nothing in return! 7 For Egypt's promises are worthless! 'The Reluctant Dragon,' I call her!"
The Disobedient People
8 "Now go and write down this word of mine concerning Egypt, so that it will stand until the end of time, forever and forever, as an indictment of Israel's unbelief. 9 For if you don't write it, they will claim I never warned them. 'Oh no,' they'll say, 'You never told us that!' For they are stubborn rebels. 10 They tell My prophets, 'Shut up--we don't want any more of your reports!' Or they say, 'Don't tell us the truth; tell us nice things; tell us lies. 11 Forget all this gloom; we've heard more than enough about your 'Holy One of Israel' and all He says.'"
12 "This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: 'Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in frauds and lies and won't repent, 13 therefore calamity will come upon you suddenly, as upon a BULGING WALL that bursts and falls; in one moment it comes crashing down." 14 "CREATOR will smash you like a broken dish; He will not act sparingly. Not a piece will be left large enough to use for carrying coals from the hearth, or a little water from the well."
15 "For ETERNAL CREATOR, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'Only in returning to Me and waiting for Me will you be saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength; but you'll have none of this.' 16 'No,' you say. 'We will get our help from Egypt; they will give us swift horses for riding to battle.' But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! 17 One of them will chase a thousand of you! Five of them will scatter you until not two of you are left together. You will be like lonely trees on the distant mountaintops. 18 Yet ETERNAL still waits for you to come to Him so He can show you His love; He will conquer you to bless you, just as He said. For ETERNAL is faithful to His promises. Blessed are all those who wait for Him to help them."
CREATOR Will Bless His People
19 "O My people in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more, for He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. He will answer you. 20 Though He give you the bread of adversity and water of affliction, yet He will be with you to teach you--with your own eyes you will see your Teacher. 21 And if you leave CREATOR's paths and go astray, you will hear a Voice behind you say, 'No, this is the way; walk here.' 22 And you will destroy all your silver idols and gold images and cast them out like filthy things you hate to touch. 'Ugh!' you'll say to them. 'Be gone!' 23 Then CREATOR will bless you with rain at planting time and with wonderful harvests and with ample pastures for your cows. 24 The oxen and young donkeys that till the ground will eat grain, its chaff blown away by the wind. 25 In that day when CREATOR steps in to destroy your enemies, He will give you streams of water flowing down each mountain and every hill. 26 The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sunlight brighter than seven days! So it will be when ETERNAL begins to heal His people and to cure the wounds He gave them."
27 See, ETERNAL comes from afar, aflame with wrath, surrounded by thick rising smoke. His lips are filled with fury; his words consume like fire. 28 His wrath pours out like floods upon them all, to sweep them all away. He will sift out the proud nations and bridle them and lead them off to their doom. 29 But the people of CREATOR will sing a song of solemn joy, like songs in the night when holy feasts are held; his people will have gladness of heart, as when a flutist leads a pilgrim band to Jerusalem to the Mountain of ETERNAL, the Rock of Israel. 30 And ETERNAL shall cause his majestic voice to be heard and shall crush down his mighty arm upon his enemies with angry indignation and devouring flames, with tornados, terrible storms, and huge hailstones. 31 The voice of ETERNAL shall punish the Assyrians, who had been his rod of punishment. 32 And when ETERNAL smites them, his people will rejoice with music and song. 33 The funeral pyre has long been ready, prepared for Molech, the Assyrian CREATOR; it is piled high with wood. The breath of ETERNAL, like fire from a volcano, will set it all on fire.
First Lamentation

1 Aleph Jerusalem's streets, once thronged with people, are silent now. Like a widow broken with grief, She sits alone in Her mourning. She, once queen of nations, is now a slave.
2 Beth She sobs through the night; tears run down her cheeks. Among all Her lovers, there is none to Help Her. All Her friends are now her enemies.
3 Ghimel Why is Judah led away, a slave? Because of all the wrong she did to others, making them Her slaves. Now she sits in exile far away. There is no rest, for those she persecuted have turned and conquered her.
4 Daleth The roads to Zion mourn, no longer filled with joyous throngs who come to celebrate the Temple feasts; the city gates are silent, Her priests groan, Her virgins have been dragged away. Bitterly she weeps.
5 He Her enemies prosper, for ETERNAL has punished Jerusalem for all Her many sins; Her young children are captured and taken far away as slaves.
6 Waw All Her beauty and Her majesty are gone; Her princes are like starving deer that search for pasture -Helpless game too weak to keep on running from their foes.
7 Zain And now in the midst of all Jerusalem's sadness she remembers happy bygone days.
She thinks of all the precious joys she had before Her mocking Enemy struck Her down And there was no one to give Her aid.
8 Heth For Jerusalem sinned so horribly; therefore, she is tossed away like dirty rags. All who honored her despise her now, for they have seen Her stripped naked and humiliated. She groans and hides her face.
9 Teth She indulged herself in immorality and refused to face the fact that punishment was sure to come. Now she lies in the gutter with no one left to lift Her out. O ETERNAL, she cries, see my plight. The enemy has triumphed.
10 Yod Her enemies have plundered her completely, taking everything precious she owns. She has seen foreign nations violate her sacred Temple -foreigners you had forbidden even to enter.
11 Kaph Her people groan and cry for bread; They have sold all they have for food to give a little strength. Look, O ETERNAL, she prays, and see how I'm despised.
12 Lamed Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow because of all ETERNAL has done to me, in the day of His fierce wrath.
13 Mem He has sent fire from Heaven that burns within my bones; He has placed a pitfall in my path and turned me back. He has left me sick and desolate the whole day through.
14 Nun He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of slavery. He sapped my strength and gave me to my enemies; I am Helpless in their hands.
15 Samek ETERNAL has trampled all my mighty men. A great army has come at His command to crush the noblest youth. ETERNAL has trampled His beloved city as grapes in a winepress.
16 Ain For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. My Comforter is far away-He who alone could Help me. My children have no future; we are a conquered land.
17 Pe Jerusalem pleads for Help, but no one comforts her. for ETERNAL has spoken: Let her neighbors be Her foes! Let her be thrown out like filthy rags!
18 Sade And ETERNAL is right, for we rebelled. And yet, O people everywhere, behold and see my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters are taken far away as slaves to distant lands.
19 Qoph I begged my allies for their Help. False hope--they could not Help at all. nor could my priests and elders-- they were starving in the streets while searching through the garbage dumps for bread.
20 Resh See, O ETERNAL, my anguish; my Heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have terribly rebelled. In the streets the sword awaits me; at home, disease and death.
21 Shin Hear my groans! And there is no one anywhere to Help. All my enemies have Heard my troubles, and they are glad to see what you have done. And yet, O ETERNAL, the time will surely come- for You have promised it--when You will do to them as you have done
22 Tau Look also on their sins, O ETERNAL, and punish them as you have punished me, for my sighs are many and my Heart is faint.

Second Lamentation
1 Aleph A cloud of anger from ETERNAL has overcast Jerusalem; the fairest city of Israel lies in the dust of the earth, cast from the Heights of Heaven at His command. In His day of awesome fury He has shown no mercy even to His Temple.
2 Beth ETERNAL without mercy has destroyed every home in Israel. In His wrath He has broken every fortress, every wall. He has brought the kingdom to dust, with all its rulers.
3 Ghimel All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath His wrath. He has withdrawn His protection as the enemy attacks. CREATOR burns across the land of Israel like a raging fire.
4 Daleth He bends His bow against His people as though He were an enemy. His strength is used against them to kill their finest youth. His fury is poured out like fire upon them.
5 He Yes, ETERNAL has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyed her forts and palaces. Sorrows and tears are His portion for Jerusalem.
6 Waw He has violently broken down His Temple as though it were a booth of leaves and branches in a garden! No longer can the people celebrate their holy feasts and Sabbaths. Kings and priests together fall before His wrath.
7 Zain ETERNAL has rejected His own altar, for He despises the false worship of His people; He has given their palaces to their enemies, who carouse in the Temple as Israel used to do on days of holy feasts!
8 Heth ETERNAL determined to destroy Jerusalem. He laid out an unalterable line of destruction. Therefore the ramparts and walls fell down before Him.
9 Teth Jerusalem's gates are useless. All their locks and bars are broken, for He has crushed them. Her kings and princes are enslaved in far-off lands, without a temple, without a divine law to govern them or prophetic vision to guide them.
10 Yod The elders of Jerusalem sit upon the ground in silence, clothed in sackcloth; they throw dust upon their Heads in sorrow and despair. The virgins of Jerusalem hang their Heads in shame.
11 Kaph I have cried until the tears no longer come; my Heart is broken, my spirit poured out, as I see what has happened to my people; little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.
12 Lamed "Mama, Mama, we want food," they cry, and then collapse upon their mothers' shrunken breasts. Their lives ebb away like those wounded in battle.
13 Mem In all the world has there ever been such sorrow? O Jerusalem, what can I compare your anguish to? How can I comfort you? For your wound is deep as the sea. Who can Heal you?
14 Nun Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They have not tried to hold you back from slavery by pointing out your sins. They lied and said that all was well.
15 Samek All who pass by scoff and shake their Heads and say, Is this the city called Most Beautiful in All the World,' and 'Joy of All the Earth'?
16 Ain All your enemies deride you. They hiss and grind their teeth and say, "We have destroyed her at last! "Long have we waited for this hour, and it is finally here! "With our own eyes we've seen her fall."
17 Pe But it is ETERNAL who did it, just as He had warned. He has fulfilled the promises of doom He made so long ago. He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy and caused her enemies to rejoice over her and boast of their power.
18 Sade Then the people wept before ETERNAL. O walls of Jerusalem, let tears fall down upon you like a river; give yourselves no rest from weeping day or night.
19 Qoph Rise in the night and cry to your CREATOR. Pour out your Hearts like water to ETERNAL; lift up your hands to Him; plead for your children as they faint with hunger in the streets.
20 Resh O ETERNAL, think! These are your own people to whom you are doing this. Shall mothers eat their little children, those they bounced upon their knees? Shall priests and prophets die within the Temple of ETERNAL?
21 Shin See them lying in the streets-old and young, boys and girls, killed by the enemies' swords. You have killed them, ETERNAL, in your anger; you have killed them without mercy.
22 Tau You have deliberately called for this destruction; in the day of your anger none escaped or remained. All my little children lie dead upon the streets before the enemy.

Third Lamentation
1 Aleph I am the man who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of CREATOR's wrath. He has brought me into deepest darkness, shutting out all light. .He has turned against me. Day and night His hand is heavy on me.
2 Beth He has made me old and has broken my bones. He has built forts against me and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He buried me in dark places, like those long dead.
3 Ghimel He has walled me in; I cannot escape; He has fastened me with Heavy chains. And though I cry and shout, He will not Hear my prayers! He has shut me into a place of high, smooth walls; He has filled my path with detours.
4 Daleth He lurks like a bear, like a lion, waiting to attack me. He has dragged me into the underbrush and torn me with His claws, leaving me bleeding and desolate. He has bent His bow and aimed it squarely at me,
5 He And sent His arrows deep within my Heart. My own people laugh at me; all day long they sing their ribald songs. He has filled me with bitterness and given me a cup of deepest sorrows to drink.
6 Waw He has made me eat gravel and broken my teeth; He has rolled me in ashes and dirt. O ETERNAL, all peace and all prosperity have long since gone, for you have taken them away. I have forgotten what enjoyment is. All hope is gone; my strength has turned to water, for ETERNAL has left me.
7 Zain Oh, remember the bitterness and suffering you have dealt to me! For I can never forget these awful years; always my soul will live in utter shame. Yet there is one ray of hope:
8 Het His compassion never ends. It is only ETERNAL's mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His loving-kindness begins afresh each day. My soul claims ETERNAL as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him.
9 Tet ETERNAL is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him, to those who seek for Him. It is good both to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of ETERNAL. It is good for a young man to be under discipline,
10 Yod For it causes him to sit apart in silence beneath ETERNAL's demands, to lie face downward in the dust; then at last there is hope for him. Let him turn the other cheek to those who strike Him and accept their awful insults,
11 Kaph For ETERNAL will not abandon Him forever although CREATOR gives him grief, yet He will show compassion too, according to the greatness of His loving-kindness. for He does not enjoy afflicting men and causing sorrow.
12 Lamed But you have trampled and crushed beneath your feet the lowly of the world, and deprived men of their CREATOR-given rights, and refused them justice. No wonder ETERNAL has had to deal with you!
12 Mem For who can act against you without ETERNAL's permission? It is ETERNAL who Helps one and harms another. Why then should we, mere humans as we are murmur and complain when punished for our sins?
13 Nun Let us examine ourselves instead, and let us repent and turn again to ETERNAL. Let us lift our Hearts and hands to Him in Heaven, for we have sinned; we have rebelled against ETERNAL, and He has not forgotten it.
14 Samek You have engulfed us by your anger, ETERNAL, and slain us without mercy. You have veiled yourself as with a cloud so that our prayers do not reach through. You have made us as refuse and garbage among the nations.
15 Pe All our enemies have spoken out against us. We are filled with fear, for we are trapped and desolate, destroyed. My eyes flow day and night with never-ending streams of tear because of the destruction of my people.
16 Ain My eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption, Oh, that ETERNAL might look down from Heaven and respond to my cry! My Heart is breaking over what is happening to the young girls of Jerusalem.
17 Sade My enemies, whom I have never harmed, chased me as though I were a bird. They threw me in a well and capped it with a rock. The water flowed above my Head. I thought, this is the end!
18 Qoph But I called upon your name, O ETERNAL, from deep within the well, and you Heard me! You listened to my pleading; you Heard my weeping! Yes, you came at my despairing cry and told me not to fear.
19 Resh O ETERNAL, You are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life. You have seen the wrong they did to me; be my Judge, to prove me right. You have seen the plots my foes have laid against me.
20 Shin You have Heard the vile names they have called me, and all they say about me and their whispered plans. See how they laugh and sing with glee, preparing my doom.
21 Tau O ETERNAL, repay them well for all the evil they have done. Harden their Hearts and curse them, ETERNAL. Go after them in fierce pursuit and wipe them off the earth, beneath the Heavens of ETERNAL.

Fourth Lamentation
1 Aleph How the finest gold has lost its luster! For the inlaid Temple walls are scattered in the streets!
2 Beth The cream of our youth--the finest of the gold-- are treated as earthenware pots.
3 Ghimel Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people, Israel. They are like cruel desert ostriches, Heedless of their babies' cries.
4 Daleth The children's tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths for thirst, for there is not
a drop of water left. Babies cry for bread, but no one can give them any.
5 He Those who used to eat fastidiously are begging in the streets for anything at all. Those brought up in palaces now scratch in garbage pits for food.
6 Waw For the sin of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment without the hand of man.
7 Zain Our princes were lean and tanned, the finest specimens of men;
8 Heth But now their faces are as black as soot. No one can recognize them. Their skin sticks to their bones; it is dry and hard and withered.
9 Teth Those killed by the sword are far better off than those who die of slow starvation.
10 Yod Tenderhearted women have cooked and eaten their own children; thus they survived the siege.
11 Kaph But now at last the anger of ETERNAL is satisfied; His fiercest anger has been poured out. He started a fire in Jerusalem that burned it down to its foundations.
12 Lamed Not a king in all the earth--no one in all the world--would have believed an enemy could enter through Jerusalem's gates!
13 Mem Yet CREATOR permitted it because of the sins of Her prophets and priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.
14 Nun Now these same men are blindly staggering through the streets, covered with blood, defiling everything they touch.
15 Samek Get away! the people shout at them. You are defiled! They flee to distant lands and wander there among the foreigners; but none will let them stay.
16 Ain ETERNAL Himself has dealt with them; He no longer Helps them, for they persecuted the priests and elders who stayed true to CREATOR.
17 Pe We look for our allies to come and save us, but we look in vain. The nation we expected most to Help us makes no move at all.
18 Sade We can't go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end is near--our days are numbered. We are doomed.
19 Qoph Our enemies are swifter than the eagles; if we flee to the mountains they find us, if we hide in the wilderness, they are waiting for us there.
20 Resh Our king--the life of our life, ETERNAL's anointed--was captured in their snares. Yes, even our mighty king, about whom we had boasted That under His protection we could hold our own against any nation on earth!
21 Shin Do you rejoice, O people of Edom, in the land of Uz? But you, too, will feel the awful anger of ETERNAL.
22 Tau Israel's exile for Her sins will end at last, but Edom's never.

Fifth Lamentation
1 Aleph O ETERNAL, remember all that has befallen us; see what sorrows we must bear!
2 Beth Our homes, our nation, now are filled with foreigners.
3 Ghimel We are orphans--our fathers dead, our mothers widowed.
4 Daleth We must even pay for water to drink; our fuel is sold to us at the highest of prices. We bow our necks beneath the victors' feet; unending work is now our lot.
6 Waw We beg for bread from Egypt, and Assyria too.
7 Zain Our fathers sinned but died before the hand of judgment fell. We have borne the blow that they deserved!
8 Heth Our former servants have become our masters; there is no one left to save us.
9Teth We went into the wilderness to hunt for food, risking death from enemies.
10 Yod Our skin was black from famine.
11 Kaph They rape the women of Jerusalem and the girls in Judah's cities.
12 Lamed Our princes are hanged by their thumbs. Even aged men are treated with contempt.
13 Mem They take away the young men to grind their grain, and the little children stagger beneath their Heavy loads.
14 Nun The old men sit no longer in the city gates; the young no longer dance and sing.
15 Samek The joy of our Hearts has ended; our dance has turned to death.
16 Ain Our glory is gone. The crown is fallen from our Head. Woe upon us for our sins.
17 Pe Our Hearts are faint and weary; our eyes grow dim.
18 Sade Jerusalem and the Temple of ETERNAL are desolate, deserted by all but wild animals lurking in the ruins.
19 Qoph O ETERNAL, forever you remain the same! Your throne continues from generation to generation.
20 Resh Why do you forget us forever? Why do you forsake us for so long?
21 Shin Turn us around and bring us back to you again! That is our only hope! Give us back the joys we used to have!
22 Tau Or have you utterly rejected us? Are you angry with us still?