5 O Lord, remember all that has befallen us; see what sorrows we must bear! ² Our homes, our nation, now are filled with foreigners. ³ We are orphans—our fathers dead, our mothers widowed. ⁴ We must even pay for water to drink; our fuel is sold to us at the highest of prices. ⁵ We bow our necks beneath the victors’ feet; unending work is now our lot. ⁶ We beg for bread from Egypt, and Assyria too.

⁷ Our fathers sinned but died before the hand of judgment fell. We have borne the blow that they deserved!

⁸ Our former servants have become our masters; there is no one left to save us. ⁹ We went into the wilderness to hunt for food, risking death from enemies. ¹⁰ Our skin was black from famine. ¹¹ They rape the women of Jerusalem and the girls in Judah’s cities. ¹² Our princes are hanged by their thumbs. Even aged men are treated with contempt. ¹³ They take away the young men to grind their grain, and the little children stagger beneath their heavy loads.

¹⁴ The old men sit no longer in the city gates; the young no longer dance and sing. ¹⁵ The joy of our hearts has ended; our dance has turned to death.^{[a] 16} Our glory is gone. The crown is fallen from our head. Woe upon us for our sins. ¹⁷ Our hearts are faint and weary; our eyes grow dim. ¹⁸ Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord are desolate, deserted by all but wild animals lurking in the ruins.

¹⁹ O Lord, forever you remain the same! Your throne continues from generation to generation. ²⁰ Why do you forget us forever? Why do you forsake us for so long? ²¹ Turn us around and bring us back to you again! That is our only hope! Give us back the joys we used to have! ²² Or have you utterly rejected us? Are you angry with us still?