• A Prayer for Mercy

  • 1 Remember, Lord, what has come upon us; Look, and see our disgrace!
  • 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.
  • 3 We have become orphans, without a father; Our mothers are like widows.
  • 4 We have to pay for our drinking water, Our wood comes to us at a price.
  • 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, we are given no rest.
  • 6 We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.
  • 7 Our fathers sinned, and are gone; It is we who have been burdened with the punishment for their wrongdoings.
  • 8 Slaves rule over us; There is no one to rescue us from their hand.
  • 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.
  • 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the ravages of hunger.
  • 11 They violated the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.
  • 12 Leaders were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.
  • 13 Young men worked at the grinding mill, And youths staggered under loads of wood.
  • 14 Elders are absent from the gate, Young men from their music.
  • 15 The joy of our hearts has ended; Our dancing has been turned into mourning.
  • 16 The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned!
  • 17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim;
  • 18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Jackals prowl in it.
  • 19 You, Lord, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.
  • 20 Why will You forget us forever? Why do You abandon us for so long?
  • 21 Restore us to You, Lord, so that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old,
  • 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us And are exceedingly angry with us.