The TanakhKetuvim
Lamentationsאיכה
Lamentations, Eichah, mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and is read on Tisha B’Av. Its first four chapters are alphabetic: every verse or group of verses opens with the next letter of the alef-bet, a structure you can see in the opening letters on the page. Tradition names Jeremiah as its writer.
- Chapters
- 5
- Verses
- 154
- Words
- 1,542
- Letters
- 5,980
Lamentations 1:1, the first of 154 verses
אֵיכָ֣ה יָשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי עָ֔ם הָיְתָ֖ה כְּאַלְמָנָ֑ה רַּבָּ֣תִי בַגּוֹיִ֗ם שָׂרָ֨תִי֙ בַּמְּדִינ֔וֹת הָיְתָ֖ה לָמַֽס׃
How doth the city sit solitary, That was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, And princess among the provinces, How is she become tributary!