Rugăciunea poporului

Adu-Ţi aminte, Doamne, de ce ni s-a întâmplat!
    Uită-te şi vezi ruşinea noastră!
Moştenirea noastră s-a dus la necunoscuţi,
    iar casele noastre – la străini.
Am ajuns orfani de tată,
    iar mamele noastre sunt ca nişte văduve.
Apa noastră o bem pe bani,
    iar lemnele noastre trebuie să le cumpărăm.
Prigonitorii noştri sunt pe urmele noastre.
    Suntem obosiţi, dar nu suntem lăsaţi să ne odihnim.
Ne-am aliat cu Egiptul şi cu Asiria,
    ca să ne săturăm cu pâine.
Părinţii noştri au păcătuit şi nu mai sunt,
    iar noi purtăm pedeapsa lor.
Sclavii stăpânesc peste noi
    şi nimeni nu ne eliberează din mâna lor.
Ne câştigăm pâinea riscându-ne viaţa
    din cauza sabiei din pustie.
10 Ne arde pielea ca un cuptor
    de febra pricinuită de foame.
11 Au necinstit pe femei în Sion,
    pe fecioare – în cetăţile lui Iuda.
12 Prinţii au fost spânzuraţi de mâinile lor,
    iar bătrânilor nu li s-a dat cinste.
13 Tinerii trudesc la piatra de moară,
    iar copiii cad sub poverile de lemne.
14 Bătrânii nu mai vin la poarta cetăţii,
    iar tinerii au încetat să mai cânte.
15 S-a dus bucuria din inimile noastre,
    iar dansul nostru s-a prefăcut în jale.
16 A căzut coroana de pe capul nostru.
    Vai de noi, căci am păcătuit!
17 Iată de ce ne leşină inima,
    iată de ce ni s-au întunecat ochii:
18 muntele Sion a ajuns pustiit
    şi pe el se plimbă şacalii[a].

19 Doamne, Tu împărăţeşti veşnic.
    Tronul Tău dăinuie din generaţie în generaţie.
20 De ce să ne uiţi pentru totdeauna?
    De ce să ne părăseşti pentru mult timp?[b]
21 Întoarce-ne la Tine, Doamne, ca astfel să ne întoarcem!
    Dă-ne iarăşi zile ca cele din trecut!
22 Să ne fi respins Tu oare de tot
    şi să te fi mâniat Tu pe noi peste măsură?!

Footnotes

  1. Plângeri 5:18 Sau: vulpile
  2. Plângeri 5:20 Sau: De ce ne-ai uitat pentru totdeauna? / De ce ne-ai părăsit atâta timp?

Remember, O Jehovah, what is come upon us:
Behold, and see our reproach.
Our inheritance is turned unto strangers,
Our houses unto aliens.
We are orphans and fatherless;
Our mothers are as widows.
We have drunken our water for money;
Our wood [a]is sold unto us.
Our pursuers are upon our necks:
We are weary, and have no rest.
We have given the hand to the Egyptians,
And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
Our fathers sinned, and are not;
And we have borne their iniquities.
Servants rule over us:
There is none to deliver us out of their hand.
We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
Because of the sword of the wilderness.
10 Our skin is [b]black like an oven,
Because of the burning heat of famine.
11 They ravished the women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hanged up by their hand:
The faces of elders were not honored.
13 The young men bare the mill;
And the children stumbled under the wood.
14 The elders have ceased from the gate,
The young men from their music.
15 The joy of our heart is ceased;
Our dance is turned into mourning.
16 The crown is fallen from our head:
Woe unto us! for we have sinned.
17 For this our heart is faint;
For these things our eyes are dim;
18 For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate:
The [c]foxes walk upon it.

19 Thou, O Jehovah, [d]abidest for ever;
Thy throne is from generation to generation.
20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever,
And forsake us so long time?
21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Jehovah, and we shall be turned;
Renew our days as of old.
22 [e]But thou hast utterly rejected us;
Thou art very wroth against us.

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 5:4 Hebrew cometh for price.
  2. Lamentations 5:10 Or, hot
  3. Lamentations 5:18 Or, jackals
  4. Lamentations 5:19 Or, sittest as King
  5. Lamentations 5:22 Or, Unless thou . . . and art etc.

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.(A)
Our inheritance(B) has been turned over to strangers,(C)
    our homes(D) to foreigners.(E)
We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.(F)
We must buy the water we drink;(G)
    our wood can be had only at a price.(H)
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary(I) and find no rest.(J)
We submitted to Egypt and Assyria(K)
    to get enough bread.
Our ancestors(L) sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.(M)
Slaves(N) rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.(O)
We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.(P)
11 Women have been violated(Q) in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders(R) are shown no respect.(S)
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.(T)
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.(U)
16 The crown(V) has fallen from our head.(W)
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!(X)
17 Because of this our hearts(Y) are faint,(Z)
    because of these things our eyes(AA) grow dim(AB)
18 for Mount Zion,(AC) which lies desolate,(AD)
    with jackals prowling over it.

19 You, Lord, reign forever;(AE)
    your throne endures(AF) from generation to generation.
20 Why do you always forget us?(AG)
    Why do you forsake(AH) us so long?
21 Restore(AI) us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
    renew our days as of old
22 unless you have utterly rejected us(AJ)
    and are angry with us beyond measure.(AK)