1 Remember, O Jehovah, what hath befallen us, Look attentively, and see our reproach.
2 Our inheritance hath been turned to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.
3 Orphans we have been -- without a father, our mothers `are' as widows.
4 Our water for money we have drunk, Our wood for a price doth come.
5 For our neck we have been pursued, We have laboured -- there hath been no rest for us.
6 `To' Egypt we have given a hand, `To' Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers have sinned -- they are not, We their iniquities have borne.
8 Servants have ruled over us, A deliverer there is none from their hand.
9 With our lives we bring in our bread, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
10 Our skin as an oven hath been burning, Because of the raging of the famine.
11 Wives in Zion they have humbled, Virgins -- in cities of Judah.
12 Princes by their hand have been hanged, The faces of elders have not been honoured.
13 Young men to grind they have taken, And youths with wood have stumbled.
14 The aged from the gate have ceased, Young men from their song.
15 Ceased hath the joy of our heart, Turned to mourning hath been our dancing.
16 Fallen hath the crown `from' our head, Wo `is' now to us, for we have sinned.
17 For this hath our heart been sick, For these have our eyes been dim.
18 For the mount of Zion -- that is desolate, Foxes have gone up on it.
19 Thou, O Jehovah, to the age remainest, Thy throne to generation and generation.
20 Why for ever dost Thou forget us? Thou forsakest us for length of days!
21 Turn us back, O Jehovah, unto Thee, And we turn back, renew our days as of old.
22 For hast Thou utterly rejected us? Thou hast been wroth against us -- exceedingly?
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Lamentations 5 open, and what does it ask God to do?
What everyday losses does the chapter describe?
How does the book of Lamentations end?
Today's Verse
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
Verse Of The DayThe people confess their fathers' sins (v7) and ask the LORD to "turn thou us unto thee" (v21), echoing the plea of Psalms 80:3, yet the chapter ends without a clear answer, unlike the accusations of Lamentations 4.
