Lamentations 5

1 Remember, O Yahweh, what hath befallen us, Look around, and see our reproach:

Remember, O what is LORD, come upon us: behold, and see our reproach.

2 Our inheritance, turned over to foreigners, our houses, to aliens.

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

3 Orphans, have we become, and fatherless, our mothers, are widows indeed.

We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.

4 Our water—for silver, have we drunk, our wood—for a price, cometh in.

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

5 Upon our necks, are our pursuers, We labour, and there is allowed us no rest.

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

6 To Egypt, have we stretched out our hand, to Assyria, to be satisfied with bread.

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, 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 rule over us: there is none to deliver 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 get our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

10 Our skin, as with a furnace, is scorched, because of the hot winds of famine.

Our skin is black like an oven because of the burning heat of famine.

11 Women—in Zion, were ravished, virgins, in the cities of Judah!

They ravished the women in Zion, the maidens in the cities of Judah.

12 Princes, by their hand, have been hanged, The faces of elders, not honoured.

Princes were hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.

13 Young men, a millstone, have lifted, and, youths, under wood, have staggered.

The young men bare the mill, and the children stumbled under the wood.

14 Elders, from the gates, have ceased. Young men, from their music.

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

15 Ceased hath the joy of our hearts, Changed to mourning, our dance.

The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance 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 unto us! for we have sinned.

17 For this cause, faint is our heart, For these things, dimmed are our eyes:

For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim;

18 Because of Mount Zion, which is desolate, jackals, have gone prowling therein.

For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate; the foxes walk upon it.

19 Thou, O Yahweh, unto times age-abiding, dost remain, Thy throne, from generation to generation:

Thou, O LORD, abidest for ever; thy throne is from generation to generation.

20 Wherefore shouldst thou perpetually forget us? forsake us, to length of days?

Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [and] forsake us so long time?

21 Bring us back, O Yahweh, unto thyself, and we will come back! Renew our days, as of old;

Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

22 For though thou hast not, utterly rejected, us, thou art wroth with us—exceedingly!

But thou hast utterly rejected us, thou art very wroth against us.