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.
Lamentations 5
Revised Geneva Translation
5 Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us. Consider, and behold our reproach.
2 Our inheritance has turned to strangers, our houses to the aliens.
3 We are orphans, without fathers. Our mothers are like widows.
4 We pay money for our drinking water. Our wood is sold to us.
5 Our necks are under persecution. We are weary and have no rest.
6 We have given our hands to the Egyptians, and to Assyria, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers have sinned, and are no more, but we have borne their iniquities.
8 Servants have ruled over us. No one would deliver us out of their hands.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness.
10 Our skin is black, like an oven, because of the terrible famine.
11 They defile the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
12 The princes were hung up by their hands. The faces of the elders were not respected.
13 They took the young men for the grindstone, and the children fell under the loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the gate, and the young men from their songs.
15 The joy of our heart has gone. Our dance has turned into mourning.
16 The crown of our head has fallen. Woe, now, to us! For we have sinned!
17 Therefore, our heart is heavy for these things. Our eyes are dim,
18 because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate. The foxes run upon it.
19 But You, O LORD, remain forever! Your throne is from generation to generation!
20 Why do You forget us forever, forsake us for such a long time?
21 Turn us to You, O LORD, and we shall be turned! Renew our days, as of old!
22 But You have utterly rejected us. You are exceedingly angry with us.
Lamentations 5
International Children’s Bible
A Prayer to the Lord
5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us.
Look and see our disgrace.
2 Our land has been turned over to strangers.
Our houses have been given to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans with no father.
Our mothers have become like widows.
4 We have to buy the water we drink.
We must pay for the wood for our fires.
5 They work us hard as if we were animals with a yoke on our necks.
We get tired and have no rest.
6 We made an agreement with Egypt
and with Assyria to get enough food.
7 Our ancestors sinned against you. But they are gone.
Now we must suffer because of their sins.
8 Slaves have become our rulers.
There is no one who can save us from them.
9 We risk our lives to get our food
because there are men with swords in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven.
We burn with fever because of the terrible hunger.
11 The enemy raped the women of Jerusalem
and the girls in the cities of Judah.
12 The enemy hung our princes by the hands.
They do not honor our elders.
13 The young men grind grain at the mill.
Boys stumble while carrying loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit at the city gates.
The young men no longer make music.
15 We have no more joy in our hearts.
Our dancing has turned into sadness.
16 The glory has gone from Jerusalem.
How terrible it is for us because we have sinned.
17 Because of this we are afraid.
Because of these things our eyes are dim.
18 Mount Zion is empty.
Now wild dogs wander around it.
19 But you rule forever, Lord.
You will be King from now on.
20 Why have you forgotten us for so long?
Why have you left us for so long?
21 Bring us back to you, Lord. We will return.
Make our days as they were before.
22 Or have you completely rejected us?
Will your anger never end?
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