| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and behold our reproach! | 1LORD, remember what has happened to us. See how we have been disgraced! |
| 2Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, And our houses to foreigners. | 2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. |
| 3We have become orphans and waifs, Our mothers are like widows. | 3We are orphaned and fatherless. Our mothers are widowed. |
| 4We pay for the water we drink, And our wood comes at a price. | 4We have to pay for water to drink, and even firewood is expensive. |
| 5They pursue at our heels; We labor and have no rest. | 5Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted but are given no rest. |
| 6We have given our hand to the Egyptians And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. | 6We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive. |
| 7Our fathers sinned and are no more, But we bear their iniquities. | 7Our ancestors sinned, but they have died— and we are suffering the punishment they deserved! |
| 8Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us from their hand. | 8Slaves have now become our masters; there is no one left to rescue us. |
| 9We get our bread at the risk of our lives, Because of the sword in the wilderness. | 9We hunt for food at the risk of our lives, for violence rules the countryside. |
| 10Our skin is hot as an oven, Because of the fever of famine. | 10The famine has blackened our skin as though baked in an oven. |
| 11They ravished the women in Zion, The maidens in the cities of Judah. | 11Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem and the young girls in all the towns of Judah. |
| 12Princes were hung up by their hands, And elders were not respected. | 12Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs, and our elders are treated with contempt. |
| 13Young men ground at the millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood. | 13Young men are led away to work at millstones, and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood. |
| 14The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, And the young men from their music. | 14The elders no longer sit in the city gates; the young men no longer dance and sing. |
| 15The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance has turned into mourning. | 15Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. |
| 16The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! | 16The garlands have fallen from our heads. Weep for us because we have sinned. |
| 17Because of this our heart is faint; Because of these things our eyes grow dim; | 17Our hearts are sick and weary, and our eyes grow dim with tears. |
| 18Because of Mount Zion which is desolate, With foxes walking about on it. | 18For Jerusalem is empty and desolate, a place haunted by jackals. |
| 19You, O LORD, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. | 19But LORD, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation. |
| 20Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time? | 20Why do you continue to forget us? Why have you abandoned us for so long? |
| 21Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old, | 21Restore us, O LORD, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had! |
| 22Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us! | 22Or have you utterly rejected us? Are you angry with us still? |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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