5 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;

look, and see our disgrace.s

2 Our inheritancet has been turned over to strangers,u

our homesv to foreigners.w

3 We have become fatherless,

our mothers are widows.x

4 We must buy the water we drink;y

our wood can be had only at a price.z

5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;

we are wearya and find no rest.b

6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyriac

to get enough bread.

7 Our ancestorsd sinned and are no more,

and we bear their punishment.e

8 Slavesf rule over us,

and there is no one to free us from their hands.g

9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives

because of the sword in the desert.

10 Our skin is hot as an oven,

feverish from hunger.h

11 Women have been violatedi in Zion,

and virgins in the towns of Judah.

12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;

eldersj are shown no respect.k

13 Young men toil at the millstones;

boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 The elders are gone from the city gate;

the young men have stopped their music.l

15 Joy is gone from our hearts;

our dancing has turned to mourning.m

16 The crownn has fallen from our head.o

Woe to us, for we have sinned!p

17 Because of this our heartsq are faint,r

because of these things our eyess grow dimt

18 for Mount Zion,u which lies desolate,v

with jackals prowling over it.

19 You, Lord, reign forever;w

your throne enduresx from generation to generation.

20 Why do you always forget us?y

Why do you forsakez us so long?

21 Restorea us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;

renew our days as of old

22 unless you have utterly rejected usb

and are angry with us beyond measure.c