[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!