Lamentations 1*1 Each of the first four chapters of this book is an acrostic, laid out in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. The first word of each verse begins with a successive Hebrew letter. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 have one verse for each of the 22 Hebrew letters. Chapter 3 contains 22 stanzas of three verses each. Though chapter 5 has 22 verses, it is not an acrostic.

Sorrow in Jerusalem

1Jerusalem, once so full of people,

is now deserted.

She who was once great among the nations

now sits alone like a widow.

Once the queen of all the earth,

she is now a slave.