God, remember what happened to us; look, take note of our degradation.

Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our insult.

Remember, O L-rd, what has become of us. Look, and behold our shame.

Our heritage was subverted to strangers, our homes to foreigners.

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

Our inheritance has been overturned by foreigners; our houses, by strangers.

We have been orphaned, there is no father, our mothers are as widows.

We are become orphans and fatherless, our mothers are like widows.

We are as orphans, without a father; our mothers, as widows.

We pay to drink our own water, our wood is acquired for a price.

We have drunk our water for money; our own wood is sold to us.

[(Fearing to draw water from the river lest we be attacked by our foes,)] we drank our water for money [i.e., we bought it from them]; our wood was sold to us.

We are hounded around our necks, we exhaust ourselves, but nothing remains for us.

We are pursued to our necks: we labour, and have no rest.

We were pursued [with the yoke of hard labor] on our necks. We wearied ourselves [(to earn something)], but it [(what we earned)] was not left with us [(but exacted in taxes)].

We extended a hand toward Egypt [for assistance,] toward Ashur, to satiate us with bread.

We have given the hand to Miżrayim, and to Ashshur, to be satisfied with bread.

[To] Egypt we stretched out a hand [(to support ourselves on them)]; [to] Ashur, to be sated with [their] bread.

Our forefathers sinned, and are no longer—we must bear the burden of their transgressions.

Our fathers have sinned, and are no more; but we bear their iniquities.

Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we have borne their sins.

Slaves rule over us, and there is no redeemer from their clutches.

Servants rule over us: there is none to deliver us out of their hand.

Slaves ruled over us; there is no redeemer from their hand.

We gain our bread at the risk of our lives, from the sword of the wilderness.

We get our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

At [the risk of] our lives we brought our bread, because of the sword of [marauders in] the wilderness.

Our skin is inflamed like a furnace, from burning hunger.

Our skin is hot like an oven because of the burning famine.

Our skin as [(in)] an oven was parched, because of the burning famine.

Matrons were ravished in Tzion, maidens in the cities of Yehudah.

Women are ravished in Żiyyon, and maidens in the cities of Yehuda.

Women in Zion they ravished; virgins in the cities of Judah.

Noblemen were hung by the hands, elders were accorded no reverence.

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

Princes they hanged by their hands; they showed no deference for elders.

Youths were encumbered with millstones, boys staggered with beams.

Young men drag the millstone, and youths stumble under the wood.

Young men carried millstones [(on their shoulders to weary them when they were being led in chains)]; youths were weakened by [burdens of] wood.

The elders vanished from the gates of justice, young men from their halls of song.

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

Elders have ceased from the gate; young men from their song.

Joy has disappeared from our hearts, our dance has turned to grief.

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

The joy of our heart has ceased; our dance turned to mourning.

The crown of our heads has fallen. Woe to us, for we have sinned.

The crown is fallen from our head: woe to us, that we have sinned!

The crown of our head is fallen — Woe unto us, for we have sinned!

For this our hearts ached, over these, our eyes were dulled—

For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.

For this [(what follows)] our heart was afflicted; for these our eyes were darkened:

Over Mount Tzion which was devastated, foxes meandered across it.

Because of the mountain of Żiyyon, which is desolate, foxes prowl over it.

For Mount Zion, which is desolate; foxes prowl on it.

Adonoy, You shall endure for all eternity, Your throne throughout the generations;

Thou, O Lord, art enthroned forever; Thy throne is from generation to generation.

[But] You, O L-rd, forever shall preside; Your throne, from generation to generation.

Why, then, O Eternal, do You forget us, abandon us through lengthy days?

Why dost Thou forget us forever, why dost Thou so long forsake us?

Why [then] should You forget us eternally, forsake us everlastingly? [(Did You not swear to us [to preserve us] by Your everlasting Presence?)]

Adonoy, return us to You then we shall repent. Rejuvenate our days as in early times.

Turn us to Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old:

Return us, O L-rd, to You, and we shall return; renew our days as of yore.

For, although You may have considered us contemptible, You have already vented the utmost fury against us. (Adonoy, God, return us to You, then we shall repent. Rejuvenate our days as in early times.)

unless Thou hast utterly rejected us; and art exceedingly angry against us.

For though You have deeply despised us [for our sins], You were overly wrathful with us.