Book 25 of 39 in the Old Testament — Grief over Jerusalem.
Lamentations is a collection of five poetic laments mourning the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by Babylon in 586 BC, traditionally attributed to Jeremiah. Written in careful acrostic form, the poems give voice to grief, confession, and the devastation of watching a beloved city fall. Amid the sorrow, chapter 3 contains one of Scripture's clearest statements of hope: ‘his mercies are new every morning.’ The book gives dignity and language to communal grief without rushing past it.
“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”King James Version
Jerusalem asks if any sorrow compares to what she suffers.
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”King James Version
The Lord's mercies are new every morning; great is his faithfulness.
“The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”King James Version
The Lord is good to those who wait for him.
“Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.”King James Version
God's throne endures forever, from generation to generation.
“Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.”King James Version
The closing prayer asks God to restore his people to himself.