Lamentations 5

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?