5 1 Remember, our Father, what has happened to us; look and see our disgrace. 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. 3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. 4 We pay for our own water to drink; even firewood costs us money. 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; we are worn out and given no rest. 6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria just to get enough bread. 7 Our ancestors sinned, and are no more; and we bear their punishment. 8 Slaves rule over us; there is no one to free us from their grip. 9 We risk our lives to get our bread, because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin is hot as an oven, scorched by the burning heat of famine. 11 Women are violated in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes are hung up by their hands; the elders receive no respect. 13 Young men toil at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood. 14 The elders have left the city gate, the young men their music. 15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has turned to mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart has grown faint; because of these things our eyes have grown dim. 18 For Mount Zion lies desolate; jackals prowl over it.
19 You, our Father, are enthroned forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 20 Why do you forget us forever, forsake us for so many days? 21 Restore us to yourself, our Father, and we will return; renew our days as they once were— a a v21 After every cry of ruin, Lamentations ends by reaching for the one thing that can heal it — being turned back to the Father. The whole book leans toward this: come home. 22 unless you have utterly rejected us, and are angry with us beyond measure.