Lamentations 5 - New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Chapter 5

The Community’s Lament to the Lord

1 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us,
pay attention, and see our disgrace:
2 Our heritage is turned over to strangers,
our homes, to foreigners.(A)
3 We have become orphans, without fathers;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We pay money to drink our own water,
our own wood comes at a price.
5 With a yoke on our necks, we are driven;
we are worn out, but allowed no rest.

6 We extended a hand to Egypt and Assyria,
to satisfy our need of bread.[a]
7 Our ancestors, who sinned, are no more;
but now we bear their guilt.
8 Servants[b] rule over us,
with no one to tear us from their hands.
9 We risk our lives just to get bread,
exposed to the desert heat;(B)
10 Our skin heats up like an oven,
from the searing blasts of famine.(C)

11 Women are raped in Zion,
young women in the cities of Judah;(D)
12 Princes have been hanged by them,
elders shown no respect.(E)
13 Young men carry millstones,
boys stagger under loads of wood;
14 The elders have abandoned the gate,[c]
the young men their music.

15 The joy of our hearts has ceased,
dancing has turned into mourning;(F)
16 The crown has fallen from our head:
woe to us that we sinned!
17 Because of this our hearts grow sick,
at this our eyes grow dim:
18 Because of Mount Zion, lying desolate,
and the jackals roaming there!

19 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your throne stands from age to age.(G)
20 [d]Why have you utterly forgotten us,
forsaken us for so long?(H)
21 Bring us back to you, Lord, that we may return:
renew our days as of old.(I)
22 For now you have indeed rejected us
and utterly turned your wrath against us.(J)

Footnotes

  1. 5:6 Extended a hand: that is, made an alliance. In its state of abjection, Judah was forced to depend on the major powers to the west and the east for subsistence.
  2. 5:8 Servants: the Hebrew word for “servant” is also the word used for an official of relatively high status (servant of the ruler; cf. 2 Kgs 25:24, where the term is used to refer to Babylonian rulers over occupied Jerusalem); the author doubtless intends the double meaning here.
  3. 5:14 The gate: a place of assembly, where city decisions were made and judgment given by the elders and other community leaders; see note on Ru 4:1.
  4. 5:20–22 Unlike most of the laments found in the Book of Psalms, the Book of Lamentations never moves from lament to thanksgiving. It ends with this question still unanswered by God: “Why have you utterly forgotten us?”

Cross references

  1. 5:2 : Ps 79:1.
  2. 5:9 : Lam 1:11.
  3. 5:10 : Lam 4:8.
  4. 5:11 : Zec 14:2.
  5. 5:12 : Lam 4:16.
  6. 5:15 : Jer 16:9; 25:10; Am 8:10.
  7. 5:19 : Ps 9:8; 45:7; 102:13, 27.
  8. 5:20 : Ps 13:2; 42:10; Is 49:14.
  9. 5:21 : Ps 80:19–20.
  10. 5:22 : Jer 14:19.

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A Plea for Mercy5 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; behold, and see our disgrace!2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to aliens.3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.4 We must pay for the water we drink, the wood we get must be bought.5 Wit...
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Lamentations 5 - New Living Translation (NLT)

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