Lamentations 5
New Living Translation
Prayer for Restoration
5 Lord, remember what has happened to us.
See how we have been disgraced!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
3 We are orphaned and fatherless.
Our mothers are widowed.
4 We have to pay for water to drink,
and even firewood is expensive.
5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;
we are exhausted but are given no rest.
6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
to get enough food to survive.
7 Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—
and we are suffering the punishment they deserved!
8 Slaves have now become our masters;
there is no one left to rescue us.
9 We hunt for food at the risk of our lives,
for violence rules the countryside.
10 The famine has blackened our skin
as though baked in an oven.
11 Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem[a]
and the young girls in all the towns of Judah.
12 Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs,
and our elders are treated with contempt.
13 Young men are led away to work at millstones,
and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit in the city gates;
the young men no longer dance and sing.
15 Joy has left our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The garlands have[b] fallen from our heads.
Weep for us because we have sinned.
17 Our hearts are sick and weary,
and our eyes grow dim with tears.
18 For Jerusalem[c] is empty and desolate,
a place haunted by jackals.
19 But Lord, you remain the same forever!
Your throne continues from generation to generation.
20 Why do you continue to forget us?
Why have you abandoned us for so long?
21 Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again!
Give us back the joys we once had!
22 Or have you utterly rejected us?
Are you angry with us still?
Lamentations 5
New International Reader's Version
5 Lord, think about what has happened to us.
Look at the shame our enemies have brought on us.
2 The land you gave us has been turned over to outsiders.
Our homes have been given to strangers.
3 Our fathers have been killed.
Our mothers don’t have husbands.
4 We have to buy the water we drink.
We have to pay for the wood we use.
5 Those who chase us are right behind us.
We’re tired and can’t get any rest.
6 We put ourselves under the control of Egypt and Assyria
just to get enough bread.
7 Our people of long ago sinned.
And they are now dead.
We are being punished because of their sins.
8 Slaves rule over us.
No one can set us free
from their power.
9 We put our lives in danger just to get some bread to eat.
Robbers in the desert might kill us with their swords.
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven.
We are so hungry we’re burning up with fever.
11 Our women have been treated badly in Zion.
Our virgins have been treated badly in the towns of Judah.
12 Our princes have been hung up by their hands.
No one shows our elders any respect.
13 Our young men are forced to grind grain at the mill.
Our boys almost fall down
as they carry heavy loads of wood.
14 Our elders don’t go to the city gate anymore.
Our young men have stopped playing their music.
15 There isn’t any joy in our hearts.
Our dancing has turned into mourning.
16 All of our honor is gone.
How terrible it is for us because we have sinned!
17 So our hearts are weak.
Our eyes can’t see very clearly.
18 Mount Zion has been deserted.
Wild dogs are prowling all around on it.
19 Lord, you rule forever.
Your throne will last for all time to come.
20 Why do you always forget us?
Why have you deserted us for so long?
21 Lord, please bring us back to you.
Then we can return.
Make our lives like new again.
22 Or have you completely turned away from us?
Are you really that angry with us?
Lamentations 5
Contemporary English Version
A Prayer for Mercy
The People of Jerusalem Pray:[a]
5 Our Lord, don't forget
how we have suffered
and been disgraced.
2 Foreigners and strangers
have taken our land
and our homes.
3 We are like children
whose mothers are widows.
4 The water we drink
and the wood we burn
cost far too much.
5 We are terribly mistreated;[b]
we are worn out
and can find no rest.
6 We had to surrender
to[c] Egypt and Assyria
because we were hungry.
7 Our ancestors sinned,
but they are dead,
and we are left to pay
for their sins.
8 Slaves are now our rulers,
and there is no one
to set us free.
9 We are in danger
from brutal desert tribes;
we must risk our lives
just to bring in our crops.[d]
10 Our skin is scorched
from fever and hunger.
11 On Zion and everywhere in Judah
our wives and daughters
are being raped.
12 Our rulers are strung up
by their arms,
and our nation's advisors
are treated shamefully.
13 Young men are forced
to do the work of slaves;
boys must carry
heavy loads of wood.
14 Our leaders are not allowed
to decide cases in court,
and young people
no longer play music.
15 Our hearts are sad;
instead of dancing,
we mourn.
16 Zion's glory has disappeared!
And we are doomed
because of our sins.
17 We feel sick all over
and can't even see straight;
18 our city is in ruins,
overrun by wild dogs.
19 You will rule forever, Lord!
You are King for all time.
20 Why have you forgotten us
for so long?
21 Bring us back to you!
Give us a fresh start.
22 Or do you despise us so much
that you don't want us?
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
