Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 191
4:16–5:4
L amentations
The Lord himself has scattered them,
and he no longer helps them.
People show no respect for the priests
and no longer honor the leaders.
We looked in vain for our allies
to come and save us,
but we were looking to nations
that could not help us.
We couldn’t go into the streets
without danger to our lives.
Our end was near; our days were numbered.
We were doomed!
Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight.
If we fled to the mountains, they found us.
If we hid in the wilderness,
they were waiting for us there.
Our king—the Lord’s anointed, the very life of our nation—
was caught in their snares.
We had thought that his shadow
would protect us against any nation on earth!
Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz,
O people of Edom?
But you, too, must drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger.
You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.
O beautiful Jerusalem, your punishment will end;
you will soon return from exile.
But Edom, your punishment is just beginning;
soon your many sins will be exposed.
Lord, remember what has happened to us.
See how we have been disgraced!
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
We are orphaned and fatherless.
Our mothers are widowed.
We have to pay for water to drink,
and even firewood is expensive.
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