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5:1  Lord, please remember the trouble that has happened to us. Look at us, because we are ashamed.
5:2  Strangers have taken the land that our ancestors gave to us. Foreign people live in our homes.
5:3  We are children whose fathers have died. Our mothers no longer have husbands.
5:4  We must pay money for the water that we drink. We must buy wood for our fires.
5:5  Our enemies cause us to work like animals. But the work is too difficult and they will not let us rest.
5:6  We gave ourselves to the Egyptians and to the Assyrians, so that we could get food to eat.
5:7  Our ancestors sinned, but they are dead. Now we have the troubles that you caused because of them. You punished us because of their sin.
5:8  Slaves now rule us. And there is nobody to save us from their power.
5:9  We meet danger when we work in the fields. Enemies are everywhere and they want to kill us.
5:10  Our skin feels as if we are burning. We are so hungry that we are ill.
5:11  Enemies do what they want with the women in Zion. They are cruel to the young women in Judah's cities.
5:12  They hang our leaders by their hands. And they are cruel to our old men too.
5:13  They took the young men to make flour for them, like slaves. Our boys have to carry heavy bags of wood.
5:14  Our enemies no longer let our old men decide things. The old men cannot say what is right or fair for us. And the young men have stopped their music.
5:15  We are not happy any longer. Instead, we are very sad, so we do not dance any longer.
5:16  And we have no king in Jerusalem any longer. We have sinned, so it will be very bad for us.
5:17  So our bodies feel ill and we feel ill deep inside us. Our eyes are very tired and we cannot hope for good things any longer.
5:18  We are so sad because they destroyed Zion's walls and buildings. Wild animals walk on them now.
5:19  But you, Lord, will be king for ever. You will always rule us.
5:20  Tell us why you have forgotten us. Tell us why you have left us alone for so long.
5:21  Help us to come back to you, Lord. Let us be great again, like we were long ago.
5:22  Please do that, unless you have turned away from us completely. Do not continue to be angry with us more than we can take.