Lamentations 5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Plea for Mercy
5 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
look, and see our disgrace!(A)
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to aliens.(B)
3 We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We must pay for the water we drink;
the wood we get must be bought.
5 With a yoke[a] on our necks we are hard driven;
we are weary; we are given no rest.(C)
6 We have made a pact with[b] Egypt and Assyria
to get enough bread.(D)
7 Our ancestors sinned; they are no more,
and we bear their iniquities.(E)
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to deliver us from their hand.(F)
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is black as an oven
from the scorching heat of famine.(G)
11 Women are raped in Zion,
young women in the towns of Judah.(H)
12 Princes are hung up by their hands;
no respect is shown to the elders.(I)
13 Young men are compelled to grind,
and boys stagger under loads of wood.(J)
14 The old men have left the city gate,
the young men their music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning.(K)
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our hearts are sick;
because of these things our eyes have grown dim:(L)
18 because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate;
jackals prowl over it.
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.(M)
20 Why have you forgotten us completely?
Why have you forsaken us these many days?(N)
21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored;
renew our days as of old—(O)
22 unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure.(P)
Lamentations 5
Common English Bible
The people’s complaint
5 Lord, consider what has become of us; take notice of our disgrace. Look at it!
2 Our property has been turned over to strangers;
our houses belong to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, having no father;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We drink our own water—but for a price;
we gather our own wood—but pay for it.
5 Our hunters have been at our necks;[a]
we are worn out, but have no rest.
6 We held out a hand to Egypt
and to Assyria, to get sufficient food.
7 Our fathers have sinned and are gone,
but we are burdened with their iniquities.
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to rescue us from their power.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives
because of the desert heat.[b]
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven
because of the burning heat of famine.
11 Women have been raped in Zion,
young women in Judah’s cities.
12 Officials have been hung up by their hands;
elders have been shown no respect.
13 Young men have carried grinding stones;
boys have stumbled under loads of wood.
14 Elders have left the city gate;
young people stop their music.
15 Joy has left our heart;
our dancing has changed into lamentation.
16 The crown has fallen off our head.
We are doomed because we have sinned.
17 Because of all this our heart is sick;
because of these things our glance is dark.
18 Mount Zion, now deserted—
only jackals walk on it now!
19 But you, Lord, will rule forever;
your throne lasts from one generation to the next.
20 Why do you forget us continually;
why do you abandon us for such a long time?
21 Return us, Lord, to yourself. Please let us return![c]
Give us new days, like those long ago—
22 unless you have completely rejected us,
or have become too angry with us.[d]
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:5 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 5:9 Or sword; Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 5:21 Or and we will return or so that we can return
- Lamentations 5:22 Or But instead you have completely rejected us, become too angry with us, or Because if you have completely rejected us, have become too angry with us.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible