Lamentations 3:52–5:22

52 Those who were my enemies without cause

hunted me like a bird.g

53 They tried to end my life in a pith

and threw stones at me;

54 the waters closed over my head,i

and I thought I was about to perish.j

55 I called on your name, Lord,

from the depthsk of the pit.l

56 You heard my plea:m “Do not close your ears

to my cry for relief.”

57 You came nearn when I called you,

and you said, “Do not fear.”o

58 You, Lord, took up my case;p

you redeemed my life.q

59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.r

Uphold my cause!s

60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,

all their plots against me.t

61 Lord, you have heard their insults,u

all their plots against me—

62 what my enemies whisper and mutter

against me all day long.v

63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,

they mock me in their songs.w

64 Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,

for what their hands have done.x

65 Put a veil over their hearts,y

and may your curse be on them!

66 Pursuez them in anger and destroy them

from under the heavens of the Lord.

4 a How the gold has lost its luster,

the fine gold become dull!

The sacred gems are scattered

at every street corner.a

2 How the precious children of Zion,b

once worth their weight in gold,

are now considered as pots of clay,

the work of a potter’s hands!

3 Even jackals offer their breasts

to nurse their young,

but my people have become heartless

like ostriches in the desert.c

4 Because of thirstd the infant’s tongue

sticks to the roof of its mouth;e

the children beg for bread,

but no one gives it to them.f

5 Those who once ate delicacies

are destitute in the streets.

Those brought up in royal purpleg

now lie on ash heaps.h

6 The punishment of my people

is greater than that of Sodom,i

which was overthrown in a moment

without a hand turned to help her.

7 Their princes were brighter than snow

and whiter than milk,

their bodies more ruddy than rubies,

their appearance like lapis lazuli.

8 But now they are blackerj than soot;

they are not recognized in the streets.

Their skin has shriveled on their bones;k

it has become as dry as a stick.

9 Those killed by the sword are better off

than those who die of famine;l

racked with hunger, they waste away

for lack of food from the field.m

10 With their own hands compassionate women

have cooked their own children,n

who became their food

when my people were destroyed.

11 The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;o

he has poured outp his fierce anger.q

He kindled a firer in Zion

that consumed her foundations.s

12 The kings of the earth did not believe,

nor did any of the peoples of the world,

that enemies and foes could enter

the gates of Jerusalem.t

13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets

and the iniquities of her priests,u

who shed within her

the bloodv of the righteous.

14 Now they grope through the streets

as if they were blind.w

They are so defiled with bloodx

that no one dares to touch their garments.

15 “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.

“Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”

When they flee and wandery about,

people among the nations say,

“They can stay here no longer.”z

16 The Lord himself has scattered them;

he no longer watches over them.a

The priests are shown no honor,

the eldersb no favor.c

17 Moreover, our eyes failed,

looking in vaind for help;e

from our towers we watched

for a nationf that could not save us.

18 People stalked us at every step,

so we could not walk in our streets.

Our end was near, our days were numbered,

for our end had come.g

19 Our pursuers were swifter

than eaglesh in the sky;

they chased usi over the mountains

and lay in wait for us in the desert.j

20 The Lord’s anointed,k our very life breath,

was caught in their traps.l

We thought that under his shadowm

we would live among the nations.

21 Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,

you who live in the land of Uz.n

But to you also the cupo will be passed;

you will be drunk and stripped naked.p

22 Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;q

he will not prolong your exile.

But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,

and expose your wickedness.r

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