Lamentations 5
Revised Standard Version
A Plea for Mercy
5 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
behold, and see our disgrace!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to aliens.
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.
6 We have given the hand to Egypt,
and to Assyria, to get bread enough.
7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
and we bear their iniquities.
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven
with the burning heat of famine.
11 Women are ravished in Zion,
virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes are hung up by their hands;
no respect is shown to the elders.
13 Young men are compelled to grind at the mill;
and boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The old men have quit the city gate,
the young men their music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 For this our heart has become sick,
for these things our eyes have grown dim,
18 for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
jackals prowl over it.
19 But thou, O Lord, dost reign for ever;
thy throne endures to all generations.
20 Why dost thou forget us for ever,
why dost thou so long forsake us?
21 Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
Renew our days as of old!
22 Or hast thou utterly rejected us?
Art thou exceedingly angry with us?
Footnotes
- Lamentations 5:5 Symmachus: Heb lacks with a yoke
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.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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