Lamentations 5

King James Version

Full text for Lamentations Chapter 5

¹¶ Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.

²Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.

³We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows.

⁴We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.

⁵Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest.

⁶We have given the hand [to] the Egyptians, [and to] the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

⁷Our fathers have sinned, [and are] not; and we have borne their iniquities.

⁸Servants have ruled over us: [there is] none that doth deliver [us] out of their hand.

⁹We gat our bread with [the peril of] our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

¹⁰Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.

¹¹They ravished the women in Zion, [and] the maids in the cities of Judah.

¹²Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.

¹³They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.

¹⁴The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.

¹⁵The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.

¹⁶The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!

¹⁷¶ For this our heart is faint; for these [things] our eyes are dim.

¹⁸Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.

¹⁹Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

²⁰Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [and] forsake us so long time?

²¹Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

²²But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

AI Summaries

Short Summary

Lamentations 5 opens with a fervent plea to the LORD to remember the deep affliction and reproach faced by His people. They describe their dire state, having lost their inheritance, become orphans, and endured severe oppression and famine. Despite their suffering and the acknowledgment of their sins, the chapter concludes with a desperate appeal for God to turn them back to Him and renew their days as in ancient times.

Medium Summary

The chapter begins with a direct address to the LORD, imploring Him to consider the profound suffering and shame that has befallen Judah. The people lament the loss of their land and homes to strangers, their status as orphans, and their mothers as widows. They recount the hardships of paying for basic necessities like water and wood, enduring constant persecution, and toiling without rest. The text acknowledges ancestral sin and its current consequences, detailing how servants now rule over them and how they risked their lives for food amidst famine, which blackened their skin. The lament describes the ravishing of women, the hanging of princes, and the dishonoring of elders, signifying a complete breakdown of social order and joy. The chapter ends by affirming God's eternal nature while questioning His prolonged forgetfulness and forsaking, culminating in a plea for restoration and renewal.

Long Summary

Lamentations 5 commences with a heartfelt supplication to the LORD, urging Him to remember and behold the profound reproach and suffering that has come upon His people. They lament the forfeiture of their inheritance to strangers and their houses to aliens, describing themselves as orphans and their mothers as widows. The people recount the indignity of having to purchase water and wood, enduring relentless persecution, and laboring without respite. They confess to seeking aid from foreign powers like Egypt and Assyria for sustenance, and acknowledge that while their fathers sinned and are gone, the current generation bears their iniquities. The chapter vividly portrays their subjugation, with servants ruling over them and no deliverer in sight. They describe the perilous struggle for food due to the sword of the wilderness, and the physical toll of famine, which turned their skin black like an oven. The lament further details the horrific violence against women in Zion and Judah, the execution of princes, and the utter disregard for elders. The cessation of communal life is marked by elders no longer gathering at the gate and young men ceasing their music, signifying the loss of all joy and the turning of dance into mourning. The people mourn the fallen crown, recognizing their sin as the cause of their woe, leading to faint hearts and dim eyes. Despite the desolation of Mount Zion, where foxes now roam, the chapter affirms the LORD's eternal reign and enduring throne. Yet, it questions why God seems to forget and forsake them for so long, concluding with an earnest plea for divine restoration and renewal, even while expressing a sense of utter rejection and divine wrath.

Core Concepts

Plea for Divine RemembranceThe chapter opens and closes with a direct appeal to the LORD, imploring Him to remember the people's suffering and to turn them back to Him, renewing their days as in ancient times.
Loss of Inheritance and SovereigntyThe people lament that their land and homes have been taken by strangers and aliens, and that even servants now rule over them, signifying a complete loss of national and personal autonomy.
Physical Suffering and FamineThe text details extreme hardships, including paying for basic necessities like water and wood, enduring constant persecution, and the severe famine that blackened their skin and forced them to risk their lives for food.
Social and Spiritual DegenerationThe chapter describes a society in ruins, with women ravished, princes executed, elders dishonored, and all joy, music, and communal gatherings ceasing, reflecting a profound moral and social collapse.
Consequences of SinThe people explicitly acknowledge that their suffering is a result of sin, both their own and that of their fathers, stating, 'woe unto us, that we have sinned!'
God's Eternal Nature vs. Perceived AbandonmentWhile affirming the LORD's everlasting reign and eternal throne, the lament expresses a deep anguish over God's apparent forgetfulness and prolonged forsaking of His people.