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Lamentations 5
New Catholic Bible
Lamentations 5
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 5
The Prophet’s Plea for Mercy
1 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us
look, and see our disgrace.
2 Our inherited lands have been given to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We must purchase the water we drink;
we must pay for our own wood.
5 On our necks is the yoke of those who persecute us;
although we are exhausted, we are afforded no rest.
6 We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria
to get enough bread to sustain us.
7 Our ancestors who sinned are no longer alive,
but we bear the burden of their guilt.
8 Slaves have become our rulers;
there is no one to deliver us from their hands.
9 We earn our bread at the peril of our lives
because of the sword in the wilderness.[a]
10 Our skin is blackened as in a furnace
from the scorching heat of famine.
11 Women have been raped in Zion
and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
elders are shown no respect.
13 Young men toil, carrying the millstones;
boys stagger under their loads of wood.
14 The old men no longer assemble at the city gate;[b]
the young men have given up their music.
15 Joy has vanished from our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The garlands have fallen from our heads;
woe to us, for we have sinned.
17 This is why we are sick at heart;
because of this our eyes have grown dim.
18 Mount Zion lies desolate,
overrun with jackals.
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from age to age.
20 Why have you ceased to remember us?
Why have you abandoned us for so long a time?
21 Restore us back to you, O Lord, and we will return.[c]
Renew our days as we had of old,
22 unless you have utterly rejected us
with an anger that is beyond measure.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:9 Sword in the wilderness: they could get bread only by exposing themselves to the dangers of the wilderness.
- Lamentations 5:14 Gate: public life and political activity were carried on at the gates of the city.
- Lamentations 5:21 The first part of this verse is more familiar to us in the Vulgate translation: “Convert us, O Lord, and we shall be converted!”
Lamentations 5
New International Version
Lamentations 5
New International Version
5 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
look, and see our disgrace.(A)
2 Our inheritance(B) has been turned over to strangers,(C)
our homes(D) to foreigners.(E)
3 We have become fatherless,
our mothers are widows.(F)
4 We must buy the water we drink;(G)
our wood can be had only at a price.(H)
5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;
we are weary(I) and find no rest.(J)
6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria(K)
to get enough bread.
7 Our ancestors(L) sinned and are no more,
and we bear their punishment.(M)
8 Slaves(N) rule over us,
and there is no one to free us from their hands.(O)
9 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)
Lamentations 5
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Lamentations 5
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
5 O Lord, [earnestly] remember what has come upon us! Look down and see our reproach (our national disgrace)!
2 Our inheritance has fallen over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and fatherless; our mothers are like widows.
4 We have had to pay money to drink the water that belongs to us; our [own] wood is sold to us.
5 Our pursuers are upon our necks [like a yoke]; we are weary and are allowed no rest.
6 We have given the hand [as a pledge of fidelity and submission] to the Egyptians and to the Assyrians [merely] to get food to satisfy [our hunger].
7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, and [a]we have borne their iniquities.(A)
8 Servants and slaves rule over us; there is none to deliver us out of their hands.(B)
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness [the wild Arabs, who may attack if we venture into the fields to reap our harvests].
10 Our skin glows and is parched as from [the heat of] an oven because of the burning heat of [the fever of] famine.
11 They ravished the women in Zion, the virgins in the cities of Judah.
12 They hung princes by their hands; the persons of elders were not respected.
13 Young men carried millstones, and boys fell [staggering] under [burdens of] wood.
14 The elders have ceased from [congregating at] the city’s gate, the young men from their music.
15 Ceased is the joy of our hearts; our dancing has turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head [our honor is brought to the dust]! Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our hearts are faint and sick; because of these things our eyes are dim and see darkly.
18 As for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, the jackals prowl over it!
19 But You, O Lord, remain and reign forever; Your throne endures from generation to [all] generations.
20 Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long?
21 Turn us to Yourself, O Lord, and we shall be turned and restored! Renew our days as of old!—
22 Or have You utterly rejected us? [b]Or are You exceedingly angry with us [still]?
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:7 Fathers and sons alike are responsible for the calamity that has befallen Jerusalem. The truth of the matter is: this generation too deserved their punishment. “Woe to us, for we have sinned! Because of this our hearts are faint and sick; because of these things our eyes are dim and see darkly” (Lam. 5:16, 17).
- Lamentations 5:22 “The Book of Lamentations, like so many of even the saddest of the psalms, does in fact end with the language of hope, a hope that is so little apparent on the first reading of the conclusion to Lamentations that in many Hebrew manuscripts the words of Lam. 5:21 are repeated at the end, right after Lam. 5:22, so that its words of hope and restoration rather than the somber ending of “Or are You exceedingly angry with us [still]?” may be the last to fall upon the ear. A similar expedient is used in the case of Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, and Malachi” (The Cambridge Bible). See also footnote on Jer. 52:34.
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