Lamentations 5
New King James Version
Prayer for Restoration
5 Remember, (A)O Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold (B)our reproach!
2 (C)Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like (D)widows.
4 We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
5 (E)They pursue at our [a]heels;
We labor and have no rest.
6 (F)We have given our hand (G)to the Egyptians
And the (H)Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 (I)Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They (J)ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men (K)ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their (L)music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into (M)mourning.
16 (N)The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint;
(O)Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which is (P)desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.
19 You, O Lord, (Q)remain forever;
(R)Your throne from generation to generation.
20 (S)Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 (T)Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be [b]restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:5 Lit. necks
- Lamentations 5:21 returned
Lamentations 5
Lexham English Bible
A Request for Mercy
5 Remember, O Yahweh, what has become of us;
take note, and see our disgrace!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our houses, to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, fatherless,
our mothers are like widows.
4 We pay for water with money,[a]
our wood comes to us at a price.
5 We are driven on our necks;
we are weary, there is no rest for us.
6 We have made a deal with Egypt and Assyria
to be satisfied with food.
7 Our fathers have sinned, they are no more;
we bear their iniquity.
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to deliver us from their hand.
9 We risk our life for food[b]
because of the sword of the desert.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven
because of the scorching famine.
11 They raped women in Zion,
young women[c] in the cities of Judah.
12 They hang princes by their hand;
they do not show respect before elders.
13 Young men must carry a hand-mill
and boys stumble under the wood.
14 Elders are no longer at the gate,
young men no longer play stringed instruments.
15 The joy of our hearts has stopped;
our circle-dancing has changed to a mourning ceremony.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this, our heart has become faint,
because of these, our eyes have become dim.
18 Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
foxes tread on it.[d]
19 You, O Yahweh, will sit forever
on your throne for generation to generation.
20 Why have you forgotten us forever?
Why have you forsaken us for so long?[e]
21 Restore us to you, O Yahweh, that we will be restored;
renew our days as of old.
22 Unless you have utterly rejected us,
unless you are angry with us beyond measure.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:4 Literally “we drink our water by money”
- Lamentations 5:9 Literally “We take our food at our life”
- Lamentations 5:11 Or “virgins”
- Lamentations 5:18 Literally “foxes go on it”
- Lamentations 5:20 Literally “for long days”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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