1 Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and behold our reproach! |
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, And our houses to foreigners. |
3 We have become orphans and waifs, Our mothers are like widows. |
4 We pay for the water we drink, And our wood comes at a price. |
5 They pursue at our heels; We labor and have no rest. |
6 We have given our hand to the Egyptians And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. |
7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, But we bear their iniquities. |
8 Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us from their hand. |
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives, Because of the sword in the wilderness. |
10 Our skin is hot as an oven, Because of the fever of famine. |
11 They ravished the women in Zion, The maidens in the cities of Judah. |
12 Princes were hung up by their hands, And elders were not respected. |
13 Young men ground at the millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood. |
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, And the young men from their music. |
15 The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance has turned into mourning. |
16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! |
17 Because of this our heart is faint; Because of these things our eyes grow dim; |
18 Because of Mount Zion which is desolate, With foxes walking about on it. |
19 You, O LORD, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. |
20 Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time? |
21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old, |
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us! |