Lamentations 5

Prayer for Restoration

1 Yahweh, remember what has happened to us.
Look, and see our disgrace!
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 Egypt
and with Assyria, to get enough food.
7 Our fathers sinned; they no longer exist,
but we bear their punishment.
8 Slaves rule over us;
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 as an oven
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.
13 Young men labor at millstones;
boys stumble under [loads of] wood.
14 The elders have left the city gate,
the young men, their music.
15 Joy has left our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned.
17 Because of this, our heart is sick;
because of these, our eyes grow dim:
18 because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate
[and has] jackals prowling in it.
19 You, Lord, are enthroned forever;
Your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why have You forgotten us forever,
abandoned us for [our] entire lives?
21 Lord, restore us to Yourself, so we may return;
renew our days as in former times,
22 unless You have completely rejected us
and are intensely angry with us.

Lamentations 5

1 Remember, O Jehovah, what is come upon us: Behold, and see our reproach.

2 Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, Our houses unto aliens.

3 We are orphans and fatherless; Our mothers are as widows.

4 We have drunken our water for money; Our wood is sold unto us.

5 Our pursuers are upon our necks: We are weary, and have no rest.

6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

7 Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.

8 Servants rule over us: There is none 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 hand: The faces of elders were not honored.

13 The young men bare the mill; And the children stumbled under the wood.

14 The elders have ceased from the gate, The young men from their music.

15 The joy of our heart is ceased; Our dance is turned into mourning.

16 The crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto 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 upon it.

19 Thou, O Jehovah, abidest for ever; Thy throne is from generation to generation.

20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, And forsake us so long time?

21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Jehovah, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.

22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; Thou art very wroth against us.