Lamentations 5
World English Bible
5 Remember, Yahweh, what has come on us.
Look, and see our reproach.
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our houses to aliens.
3 We are orphans and fatherless.
Our mothers are as widows.
4 We have drunken our water for money.
Our wood is sold to us.
5 Our pursuers are on our necks.
We are weary, and have no rest.
6 We have given our hands to the Egyptians,
and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more.
We have borne their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us.
There is no one to deliver us out of their hand.
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword of the wilderness.
10 Our skin is 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 hands.
The faces of elders were not honored.
13 The young men carry millstones.
The children stumbled under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased from the gate,
and the young men from their music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased.
Our dance is turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to 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 foxes walk on it.
19 You, Yahweh, remain forever.
Your throne is from generation to generation.
20 Why do you forget us forever,
and forsake us for so long a time?
21 Turn us to yourself, Yahweh, and we will be turned.
Renew our days as of old.
22 But you have utterly rejected us.
You are very angry against us.
Lamentations 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Prayer for Restoration
5 Yahweh, remember what has happened to us.
Look, and see our disgrace!(A)
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are widows.
4 We must pay for the water we drink;
our wood comes at a price.
5 We are closely pursued;
we are tired, and no one offers us rest.
6 We made a treaty with[a] Egypt
and with Assyria, to get enough food.(B)
7 Our fathers sinned; they no longer exist,
but we bear their punishment.
8 Slaves rule over us;(C)
no one rescues us from their hands.
9 We secure our food at the risk of our lives
because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is as hot[b] as an oven(D)
from the ravages of hunger.
11 Women are raped in Zion,
girls in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes are hung up by their hands;
elders are shown no respect.(E)
13 Young men labor at millstones;(F)
boys stumble under loads of wood.
14 The elders have left the city gate,
the young men, their music.(G)
15 Joy has left our hearts;(H)
our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.(I)
Woe to us, for we have sinned.(J)
17 Because of this, our heart is sick;
because of these, our eyes grow dim:(K)
18 because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate
and has jackals prowling in it.(L)
19 You, Lord, are enthroned forever;
Your throne endures from generation to generation.(M)
20 Why have You forgotten us forever,(N)
abandoned us for our entire lives?
21 Lord, restore us to Yourself, so we may return;(O)
renew our days as in former times,
22 unless You have completely rejected us
and are intensely angry with us.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:6 Lit We gave the hand to
- Lamentations 5:10 Or black; Hb obscure
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