Lamentations 5

HCSB

Lamentations 5

Prayer for Restoration

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1}

Yahweh, remember what has happened to us.
Look, and see our disgrace!^(A)

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Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our houses to foreigners.

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3}

We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are widows.

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4}

We must pay for the water we drink;
our wood comes at a price.

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5}

We are closely pursued;
we are tired, and no one offers us rest.

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We made a treaty with^(a) Egypt
and with Assyria, to get enough food.^(B)

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Our fathers sinned; they no longer exist,
but we bear their punishment.

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Slaves rule over us;^(C)
no one rescues us from their hands.

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We secure our food at the risk of our lives
because of the sword in the wilderness.

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Our skin is as hot^(b) as an oven^(D)
from the ravages of hunger.

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11}

Women are raped in Zion,
girls in the cities of Judah.

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Princes are hung up by their hands;
elders are shown no respect.^(E)

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Young men labor at millstones;^(F)
boys stumble under loads of wood.

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14}

The elders have left the city gate,
the young men, their music.^(G)

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15}

Joy has left our hearts;^(H)
our dancing has turned to mourning.

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The crown has fallen from our head.^(I)
Woe to us, for we have sinned.^(J)

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Because of this, our heart is sick;
because of these, our eyes grow dim:^(K)

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because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate
and has jackals prowling in it.^(L)

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You, Lord, are enthroned forever;
Your throne endures from generation to generation.^(M)

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Why have You forgotten us forever,^(N)
abandoned us for our entire lives?

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Lord, restore us to Yourself, so we may return;^(O)
renew our days as in former times,

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unless You have completely rejected us
and are intensely angry with us.

Footnotes:

a. Lamentations 5:6: Lit We gave the hand to

b. Lamentations 5:10: Or black; Hb obscure

Cross references:

A. Lamentations 5:1: Psalm 74:18; Psalm 74:22; Psalm 89:50-51

B. Lamentations 5:6: Hosea 12:1

C. Lamentations 5:8: Proverbs 30:21-23; Ecclesiastes 10:7

D. Lamentations 5:10: Lamentations 4:8

E. Lamentations 5:12: Lamentations 4:16

F. Lamentations 5:13: Exodus 11:5; Judges 16:21; Isaiah 47:2

G. Lamentations 5:14: Isaiah 24:8

H. Lamentations 5:15: Amos 8:10

I. Lamentations 5:16: Job 19:9; Isaiah 28:3; Jeremiah 13:18

J. Lamentations 5:16: Jeremiah 8:14; Jeremiah 14:20; Daniel 9:11

K. Lamentations 5:17: Psalm 69:23; Ecclesiastes 12:3

L. Lamentations 5:18: Isaiah 13:19-22; Isaiah 34:11-15

M. Lamentations 5:19: Psalm 9:7; Psalm 45:6; Psalm 102:12; Ezekiel 43:7; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 5:13

N. Lamentations 5:20: Psalm 13:1

O. Lamentations 5:21: Jeremiah 15:19; Jeremiah 31:18