Distress of the Siege Described

1How dark the gold has become,

How the pure gold has changed!

The sacred stones are poured out

At the corner of every street.

2The precious sons of Zion,

Weighed against fine gold,

How they are regarded as earthen jars,

The work of a potter’s hands!

3Even jackals offer the breast,

They nurse their young;

But the daughter of my people has become cruel

Like ostriches in the wilderness.

4The tongue of the infant cleaves

To the roof of its mouth because of thirst;

The little ones ask for bread,

But no one breaks it for them.

5Those who ate delicacies

Are desolate in the streets;

Those reared in purple

Embrace ash pits.

6For the iniquity of the daughter of my people

Is greater than the sin of Sodom,

Which was overthrown as in a moment,

And no hands were turned toward her.

7Her consecrated ones were purer than snow,

They were whiter than milk;

They were more ruddy in body than corals,

Their polishing was like lapis lazuli.

8Their appearance is blacker than soot,

They are not recognized in the streets;

Their skin is shriveled on their bones,

It is withered, it has become like wood.

9Better are those slain with the sword

Than those slain with hunger;

For they pine away, being stricken

For lack of the fruits of the field.

10The hands of compassionate women

Boiled their own children;

They became food for them

Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11The Lord has accomplished His wrath,

He has poured out His fierce anger;

And He has kindled a fire in Zion

Which has consumed its foundations.

12The kings of the earth did not believe,

Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,

That the adversary and the enemy

Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13Because of the sins of her prophets

And the iniquities of her priests,

Who have shed in her midst

The blood of the righteous;

14They wandered, blind, in the streets;

They were defiled with blood

So that no one could touch their garments.

15“Depart! Unclean!” they cried of themselves.

“Depart, depart, do not touch!”

So they fled and wandered;

Men among the nations said,

“They shall not continue to dwell with us.”

16The presence of the Lord has scattered them,

He will not continue to regard them;

They did not honor the priests,

They did not favor the elders.

17Yet our eyes failed,

Looking for help was useless;

In our watching we have watched

For a nation that could not save.

18They hunted our steps

So that we could not walk in our streets;

Our end drew near,

Our days were finished

For our end had come.

19Our pursuers were swifter

Than the eagles of the sky;

They chased us on the mountains,

They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

20The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,

Was captured in their pits,

Of whom we had said, “Under his shadow

We shall live among the nations.”

21Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,

Who dwells in the land of Uz;

But the cup will come around to you as well,

You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

22The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion;

He will exile you no longer.

But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;

He will expose your sins!

A Prayer for Mercy

1Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;

Look, and see our reproach!

2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,

Our houses to aliens.

3We have become orphans without a father,

Our mothers are like widows.

4We have to pay for our drinking water,

Our wood comes to us at a price.

5Our pursuers are at our necks;

We are worn out, there is no rest for us.

6We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

7Our fathers sinned, and are no more;

It is we who have borne their iniquities.

8Slaves rule over us;

There is no one to deliver us from their hand.

9We get our bread at the risk of our lives

Because of the sword in the wilderness.

10Our skin has become as hot as an oven,

Because of the burning heat of famine.

11They ravished the women in Zion,

The virgins in the cities of Judah.

12Princes were hung by their hands;

Elders were not respected.

13Young men worked at the grinding mill,

And youths stumbled under loads of wood.

14Elders are gone from the gate,

Young men from their music.

15The joy of our hearts has ceased;

Our dancing has been turned into mourning.

16The crown has fallen from our head;

Woe to us, for we have sinned!

17Because of this our heart is faint,

Because of these things our eyes are dim;

18Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate,

Foxes prowl in it.

19You, O Lord, rule forever;

Your throne is from generation to generation.

20Why do You forget us forever?

Why do You forsake us so long?

21Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored;

Renew our days as of old,

22Unless You have utterly rejected us

And are exceedingly angry with us.

Give Heed

1For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

Earth Subject to Man

5For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6But one has testified somewhere, saying,

“What is man, that You remember him?

Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him?

7You have made him for a little while lower than the angels;

You have crowned him with glory and honor,

And have appointed him over the works of Your hands;

8You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

Jesus Briefly Humbled

9But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

10For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. 11For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12saying,

“I will proclaim Your name to My brethren,

In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

13And again,

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

PSALM 103

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

1Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget none of His benefits;

3Who pardons all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases;

4Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

5Who satisfies your years with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6The Lord performs righteous deeds

And judgments for all who are oppressed.

7He made known His ways to Moses,

His acts to the sons of Israel.

8The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

9He will not always strive with us,

Nor will He keep His anger forever.

10He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

14For He Himself knows our frame;

He is mindful that we are but dust.

15As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,

And its place acknowledges it no longer.

17But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children’s children,

18To those who keep His covenant

And remember His precepts to do them.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,

And His sovereignty rules over all.

20Bless the Lord, you His angels,

Mighty in strength, who perform His word,

Obeying the voice of His word!

21Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,

You who serve Him, doing His will.

22Bless the Lord, all you works of His,

In all places of His dominion;

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

23Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross

Are burning lips and a wicked heart.