Lamentations 4–5

Jerusalem after Its Fall

4Our glittering gold has grown dull;

the stones of the Temple lie scattered in the streets.

²Zion’s young men were as precious to us as gold,

but now they are treated like common clay pots.

³Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs,

but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young.

⁴They let their babies die of hunger and thirst;

children are begging for food that no one will give them.

⁵People who once ate the finest foods die starving in the streets;

those raised in luxury are pawing through refuse for food.

^6*My people have been punished even more than the inhabitants of Sodom,

which met with a sudden downfall at the hands of God.

⁷Our princes^h were undefiled and pure as snow,

vigorous and strong, glowing with health.

⁸Now they lie unknown in the streets, their faces blackened in death;

their skin, dry as wood, has shrivelled on their bones.

⁹Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later,

who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive.

^10*The disaster that came to my people brought horror;

loving mothers boiled their own children for food.

¹¹The Lord turned loose the full force of his fury;

he lit a fire in Zion that burnt it to the ground.

¹²No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations,

believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem’s gates.

¹³But it happened because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty

of causing the death of innocent people.

¹⁴Her leaders wandered through the streets like the blind,

so stained with blood that no one would touch them.

¹⁵“Go away!” people shouted. “You’re defiled! Don’t touch me!”

So they wandered from nation to nation, welcomed by no one.

¹⁶The Lord had no more concern for them; he scattered them himself.

He showed no regard for our priests and leaders.

¹⁷For help that never came, we looked until we could look no longer.

We kept waiting for help from a nation that had none to give.

¹⁸The enemy was watching for us; we could not even walk in the streets.

Our days were over; the end had come.

¹⁹Swifter than eagles swooping from the sky, they chased us down.

They tracked us down in the hills; they took us by surprise in the desert.

²⁰They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen,

the one we had trusted to protect us from every invader.

²¹Laugh on, people of Edom and Uz; be glad while you can.

Your disaster is coming too; you too will stagger naked in shame.

²²Zion has paid for her sin; the Lord will not keep us in exile any longer.

But Edom, the Lord will punish you; he will expose your guilty deeds.

A Prayer for Mercy

5Remember, O Lord, what has happened to us.

Look at us, and see our disgrace.

²Our property is in the hands of strangers;

foreigners are living in our homes.

³Our fathers have been killed by the enemy,

and now our mothers are widows.

⁴We must pay for the water we drink;

we must buy the wood we need for fuel.

⁵Driven hard like donkeys or camels,

we are tired, but are allowed no rest.

⁶To get food enough to stay alive,

we went begging to Egypt and Assyria.

⁷Our ancestors sinned, but now they are gone,

and we are suffering for their sins.

⁸We are ruled by those who are no better than slaves,

and no one can save us from their power.

⁹Murderers roam through the countryside;

we risk our lives when we look for food.

¹⁰Hunger has made us burn with fever,

until our skin is as hot as an oven.

¹¹Our wives have been raped on Mount Zion itself;

in every Judean village our daughters have been forced to submit.

¹²Our leaders have been taken and hanged;

our elders are shown no respect.

¹³Our young men are forced to grind corn like slaves;

boys go staggering under heavy loads of wood.

¹⁴The old people no longer sit at the city gate,

and the young people no longer make music.

¹⁵Happiness has gone out of our lives;

grief has taken the place of our dances.

¹⁶Nothing is left of all we were proud of.

We sinned, and now we are doomed.

¹⁷We are sick at our very hearts

and can hardly see through our tears,

¹⁸because Mount Zion lies lonely and deserted,

and wild jackals prowl through its ruins.

¹⁹But you, O Lord, are king for ever,

and will rule to the end of time.

²⁰Why have you abandoned us so long?

Will you ever remember us again?

²¹Bring us back to you, Lord! Bring us back!

Restore our ancient glory.

²²Or have you rejected us for ever?

Is there no limit to your anger?