איכה 5

1 זכר יהוה מה היה לנו הביט וראה את חרפתנו׃

Yahweh, think about what has happened to us. See that we have been disgraced.

2 נחלתנו נהפכה לזרים בתינו לנכרים׃

Foreigners have seized our property, [and now] they live in our homes.

3 יתומים היינו אין אב אמתינו כאלמנות׃

[Our enemies] have killed our fathers; they caused our mothers to become widows.

4 מימינו בכסף שתינו עצינו במחיר יבאו׃

[Now] we are required to pay for water to drink, and we must pay [a lot of money] for firewood.

5 על צוארנו נרדפנו יגענו לא הונח לנו׃

[It is as though] those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted, but they do not allow us to rest.

6 מצרים נתנו יד אשור לשבע לחם׃

In order to get enough food [to remain alive], we went to Egypt and Assyria and offered to work [for the people there].

7 אבתינו חטאו אינם אנחנו עונתיהם סבלנו׃

Our ancestors sinned, and now they are dead, but we are being punished for the sins that they committed.

8 עבדים משלו בנו פרק אין מידם׃

[Officials from Babylon] who were [previously] slaves [now] rule over us, and there is no one who can rescue us from their power.

9 בנפשנו נביא לחמנו מפני חרב המדבר׃

When we roam around in the desert searching for food, we are in danger of being killed, because people there kill strangers with their swords.

10 עורנו כתנור נכמרו מפני זלעפות רעב׃

Our skin has become hot like [SIM] an oven, and we have a very high fever because we are extremely hungry.

11 נשים בציון ענו בתלת בערי יהודה׃

[Our enemies] have raped the women in Jerusalem, [and they have done that to] the young women in [all] the towns of Judea.

12 שרים בידם נתלו פני זקנים לא נהדרו׃

[Our enemies] have hanged our leaders, and they do not respect our elders.

13 בחורים טחון נשאו ונערים בעץ כשלו׃

They force our young men to grind [flour] with millstones, and boys stagger while they [are forced to] carry [heavy] loads of firewood.

14 זקנים משער שבתו בחורים מנגינתם׃

[Our] elders no longer sit at the city gates [to make important decisions]; the young men no longer play their musical [instruments].

15 שבת משוש לבנו נהפך לאבל מחלנו׃

We [SYN] are no longer joyful; instead of dancing [joyfully], we now mourn.

16 נפלה עטרת ראשנו אוי נא לנו כי חטאנו׃

The wreaths [of flowers] have fallen off our heads. Terrible things have happened to us because of the sins that we committed.

17 על זה היה דוה לבנו על אלה חשכו עינינו׃

We [SYN] are tired and discouraged [IDM], and we cannot see well because our eyes are [full of tears].

18 על הר ציון ששמם שועלים הלכו בו׃

Jerusalem is [completely] deserted, and jackals/wolves prowl around it.

19 אתה יהוה לעולם תשב כסאך לדר ודור׃

But Yahweh, you rule forever! You continue to rule [MTY] from one generation to the next generation.

20 למה לנצח תשכחנו תעזבנו לארך ימים׃

[So] why [RHQ] have you forgotten us? Why [RHQ] have you abandoned us for a very long time?

21 השיבנו יהוה אליך ונשוב חדש ימינו כקדם׃

[Please] enable us to return to you, and enable us to prosper [MTY] as we did previously.

22 כי אם מאס מאסתנו קצפת עלינו עד מאד׃

Please do that, because we hope that [RHQ] you have not rejected us forever and that [RHQ] you do not continue to be extremely angry with us!