Lamentations 5
1 Remember, O Yahweh, what hath befallen us, Look around, and see our reproach:
Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider and behold our reproach.
2 Our inheritance, turned over to foreigners, our houses, to aliens.
Our inheritance is turned to aliens: our houses to strangers.
3 Orphans, have we become, and fatherless, our mothers, are widows indeed.
We are become orphans without a father: our mothers are as widows.
4 Our water—for silver, have we drunk, our wood—for a price, cometh in.
We have drunk our water for money: we have bought our wood.
5 Upon our necks, are our pursuers, We labour, and there is allowed us no rest.
We were dragged by the necks, we were weary and no rest was given us.
6 To Egypt, have we stretched out our hand, to Assyria, to be satisfied with bread.
We have given our hand to Egypt, and to the Assyrians, that we might be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers, sinned, and are not, and, we, their iniquities, have borne.
Our fathers have sinned, and are not: and we have borne their iniquities.
8 Slaves, have ruled over us, There is none to set free from their hand.
Servants have ruled over us: there was none to redeem us out of their hand.
9 At the risk of our life, do we bring in our bread, because of the sword of the desert.
We fetched our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin, as with a furnace, is scorched, because of the hot winds of famine.
Our skin was burnt as an oven, by reason of the violence of the famine.
11 Women—in Zion, were ravished, virgins, in the cities of Judah!
They oppressed the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Juda.
12 Princes, by their hand, have been hanged, The faces of elders, not honoured.
The princes were hanged up by their hand: they did not respect the persons of the ancient.
13 Young men, a millstone, have lifted, and, youths, under wood, have staggered.
They abused the young men indecently: and the children fell under the wood.
14 Elders, from the gates, have ceased. Young men, from their music.
The ancients have ceased from the gates: the young men from the choir of the singers.
15 Ceased hath the joy of our hearts, Changed to mourning, our dance.
The joy of our heart is ceased, our dancing is turned into mourning.
16 Fallen is the crown of our head. Surely woe to us, for we have sinned.
The crown is fallen from our head woe to us, because we have sinned.
17 For this cause, faint is our heart, For these things, dimmed are our eyes:
Therefore is our heart sorrowful, therefore are our eyes become dim,
18 Because of Mount Zion, which is desolate, jackals, have gone prowling therein.
For mount Sion, because it is destroyed, foxes have walked upon it.
19 Thou, O Yahweh, unto times age-abiding, dost remain, Thy throne, from generation to generation:
But thou, O Lord, shalt remain for ever, thy throne from generation to generation.
20 Wherefore shouldst thou perpetually forget us? forsake us, to length of days?
Why wilt thou forget us for ever? why wilt thou forsake us for a long time?
21 Bring us back, O Yahweh, unto thyself, and we will come back! Renew our days, as of old;
Convert us, O Lord, to thee, and we shall be converted: renew our days, as from the beginning.
22 For though thou hast not, utterly rejected, us, thou art wroth with us—exceedingly!
But thou hast utterly rejected us, thou art exceedingly angry against us.
