The haunting medieval lamentation "Eli Zion" captures centuries of Jewish mourning for the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem through a carefully structured catalog of losses - from desecrated sanctuaries to exiled leaders, from silenced songs to shattered ritual vessels. Robert Gordis's English translation navigates between literal fidelity and poetic resonance, preserving the Hebrew text's elegiac power while making it accessible to contemporary readers. The translation maintains the original's distinctive repetitive "for" construction, building emotional intensity as it chronicles the persecution of Davidic royalty, violence against civilians, and the complete upheaval of religious life. Through precise semantic choices and careful attention to literary aesthetics, Gordis reveals the kinah's complex theological vision, which frames national catastrophe as divine punishment while holding fast to hopes of restoration. This rendering of a central Tisha B'av prayer opens classical Jewish liturgical expression to English-speaking audiences, providing a window into traditional articulations of communal grief and faith-based resilience in response to historical trauma.