LAM 1-2 edits/corrections

25-LAM.usfm

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 \q1 Once everyone in the world honored it like a king's daughter,
 \q2 but now it is like a slave.
 \q1
-\v 2 We in the city weep bitterly all during the nights,
+\v 2 We in the city weep bitterly all during the nights
 \q2 with tears flowing down our cheeks.
 \q1 We did not trust Yahweh to help us, and the peoples that we did trust failed to help us;
 \q2 none of those people comfort us now.
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 \q2 were forced to leave our land.
 \q1 We now live in another country
 \q2 and we have no peace.
-\q1 When the people Judah were unable to defend ourselves,
+\q1 When the people of Judah were unable to defend ourselves,
 \q2 that was when our enemies captured us.
 
 \s5
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
 \q2 and they prosper.
 \q1 Yahweh has punished us, the people of Jerusalem,
 \q2 because of all the sins that we have committed.
-\q1 Our enemies have taken all our children
+\q1 Our enemies have taken all of our children
 \q2 and made them go to other countries.
 
 \s5
@@ -87,9 +87,9 @@
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 10 Our enemies have taken away all our treasures,
+\v 10 Our enemies have taken away all of our treasures,
 \q2 all the valuable things that we owned.
-\q1 People who do not worship you, Yahweh, are going into our sacred temple,
+\q1 People who do not worship you, Yahweh, are going into our sacred temple
 \q2 where you had said no foreigner must go into the place where your people worship you.
 
 \s5
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@
 \q2 while they search for food.
 \q1 They have given their most valuable things
 \q2 to get food to eat to restore their strength.
-\q1 Yahweh, look at me,
+\q1 Yahweh, look at me;
 \q2 no one values my life.
 \q1
 \v 12 You people who pass by,
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@
 \q1
 \v 13 It is as though he sent a fire from heaven
 \q2 that burned in my bones;
-\q1 it is as though he has placed a trap to entangle my feet,
+\q1 it is as though he has placed a trap to entangle my feet
 \q2 and made me turn back.
 \q1 He has abandoned me;
 \q2 I am weak and alone every day, all during the day.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 15 The Lord looked at my mighty soldiers, who kept me safe.
+\v 15 The Lord looked at my mighty soldiers who kept me safe.
 \q1 He summoned a great army
 \q2 to come and crush me to defeat my strong young soldiers.
 \q1 The Lord has trampled on the people of Judah
@@ -137,13 +137,13 @@
 \q2 My eyes are filled with tears.
 \q1 There is no one to comfort me.
 \q2 The one who comforts me is far away from me.
-\q1 My children have no hope
+\q1 My children have no hope,
 \q2 because the enemy has taken us all captive.
 \q1
-\v 17 The people who lived in Zion (the city of Jerusalem)
+\v 17 The people who lived in Zion, which is the city of Jerusalem,
 \q2 have no one to give them comfort.
 \q1 Yahweh has given the order that the people in nearby nations
-\q2 will become the enemies of the descendants of our father Jacob (who are also called the Israelites).
+\q2 will become the enemies of our father Jacob's descendants, who are also called the Israelites.
 \q2 Jerusalem has become disgusting to them.
 
 \s5
@@ -153,10 +153,10 @@
 \q1 You people everywhere, listen to me!
 \q2 Look and see that I am suffering greatly.
 \q1 My young daughters and brave sons
-\q2 have been taken away to far off lands.
+\q2 have been taken away to far-off lands.
 \q1
 \v 19 I pleaded with our allies, in whom we trusted, to help,
-\q2 but they all refused,
+\q2 but they all refused;
 \q2 they told lies and did not keep their promises.
 \q1 My priests and my leaders
 \q2 died within the walls of the city
@@ -166,16 +166,16 @@
 \q1
 \v 20 Yahweh, see that I am suffering very much!
 \q2 Inside of my body I am in great distress.
-\q1 I am sad in the center of my being,
+\q1 I am sad in the center of my being
 \q2 because I have rebelled against you
 \q2 and have caused you great sadness!
-\q1 Our enemies kill people in the streets with their swords;
-\q2 and that makes our homes the places where the dead are kept.
+\q1 Our enemies kill people in the streets with their swords,
+\q2 and that makes our homes the places where dead people are kept.
 
 \s5
 \q1
 \v 21 Hear my groaning!
-\q2 but no one came to comfort me.
+\q2 But no one came to comfort me.
 \q1 All our enemies know what happened to me;
 \q2 they were all happy to hear
 \q2 about what Yahweh has done to his people.
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@
 \v 22 Yahweh, let those evil deeds come near to you
 \q2 so you may see them all!
 \q1 Punish them as you have punished me
-\q2 for all my sins!
+\q2 for all of my sins!
 \q1 I suffer and groan very much,
 \q2 and I faint within my inner self.
 
@@ -228,13 +228,13 @@
 \q2 to us Israelites; he has destroyed us;
 \q1 he has destroyed our palaces
 \q2 and made our fortresses into ruins.
-\q1 He has gotten rid of many people in Jerusalem,
+\q1 He has gotten rid of many people in Jerusalem
 \q2 and caused us to mourn and weep for those who were killed.
 \q1
 \v 6 He has caused our enemies to smash his temple
 \q2 as easily as if it had been a hut in a garden.
 \q1 He has caused us, his people, to forget
-\q2 all our sacred festivals and Sabbath days.
+\q2 all of our sacred festivals and Sabbath days.
 \q1 He has hated our kings and priests
 \q2 because he was extremely angry with them.
 
@@ -244,8 +244,8 @@
 \q2 he has abandoned his temple.
 \q1 He has allowed our enemies to tear down the walls
 \q2 of our temple and our palaces.
-\q1 They shout victoriously in the temple of Yahweh,
-\q2 like we previously shouted during our sacred festivals.
+\q1 They shout victoriously in the temple of Yahweh
+\q2 as we previously shouted during our sacred festivals.
 
 \s5
 \q1
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@
 \q2 and they say nothing.
 \q1 They are so sad that they wear rough sackcloth
 \q2 and throw dust on their heads.
-\q1 The young girls of Jerusalem bow down sorrowfully,
+\q1 The young girls of Jerusalem bow down sorrowfully;
 \q2 their faces touch the ground.
 
 \s5
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@
 \q2 Is it the city that people said was the most beautiful city in the world,
 \q2 the city that caused all the people on the earth to rejoice?"
 \q1
-\v 16 Now all our enemies laugh at you;
+\v 16 Now all of our enemies laugh at you;
 \q2 they hate you so much that they hiss at you and grind their teeth at you.
 \q1 They say, "We have destroyed Israel!
 \q2 This is what we longed for,