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Prayer for Restoration

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.
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are exhausted but are given no rest.
We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
    to get enough food to survive.
Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—
    and we are suffering the punishment they deserved!

Slaves have now become our masters;
    there is no one left to rescue us.
We hunt for food at the risk of our lives,
    for violence rules the countryside.
10 The famine has blackened our skin
    as though baked in an oven.
11 Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem[a]
    and the young girls in all the towns of Judah.
12 Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs,
    and our elders are treated with contempt.
13 Young men are led away to work at millstones,
    and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit in the city gates;
    the young men no longer dance and sing.
15 Joy has left our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The garlands have[b] fallen from our heads.
    Weep for us because we have sinned.
17 Our hearts are sick and weary,
    and our eyes grow dim with tears.
18 For Jerusalem[c] is empty and desolate,
    a place haunted by jackals.

19 But Lord, you remain the same forever!
    Your throne continues from generation to generation.
20 Why do you continue to forget us?
    Why have you abandoned us for so long?
21 Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again!
    Give us back the joys we once had!
22 Or have you utterly rejected us?
    Are you angry with us still?

Footnotes

  1. 5:11 Hebrew in Zion.
  2. 5:16 Or The crown has.
  3. 5:18 Hebrew Mount Zion.

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.(A)
Our inheritance(B) has been turned over to strangers,(C)
    our homes(D) to foreigners.(E)
We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.(F)
We must buy the water we drink;(G)
    our wood can be had only at a price.(H)
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary(I) and find no rest.(J)
We submitted to Egypt and Assyria(K)
    to get enough bread.
Our ancestors(L) sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.(M)
Slaves(N) rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.(O)
We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.(P)
11 Women have been violated(Q) in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders(R) are shown no respect.(S)
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.(T)
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.(U)
16 The crown(V) has fallen from our head.(W)
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!(X)
17 Because of this our hearts(Y) are faint,(Z)
    because of these things our eyes(AA) grow dim(AB)
18 for Mount Zion,(AC) which lies desolate,(AD)
    with jackals prowling over it.

19 You, Lord, reign forever;(AE)
    your throne endures(AF) from generation to generation.
20 Why do you always forget us?(AG)
    Why do you forsake(AH) us so long?
21 Restore(AI) us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
    renew our days as of old
22 unless you have utterly rejected us(AJ)
    and are angry with us beyond measure.(AK)