Verse | Hebrew text | A translation | What shall we say? |
1 | זְכֹר יְהוָה מֶה הָיָה לָנוּ הַבִּיטָה וּרְאֵה אֶת חֶרְפָּתֵנוּ | Remember יְהוָה how it is with us look and see our reproach | Lam 1:11 'see and look' |
2 | נַחֲלָתֵנוּ נֶהֶפְכָה לְזָרִים בָּתֵּינוּ לְנָכְרִים | Our inheritance is turned over to strangers our houses to foreigners | 10 verses of first person plural |
3 | יְתוֹמִים הָיִינוּ וְאֵין אָב אִמֹּתֵינוּ כְּאַלְמָנוֹת | orphans and without a father our mothers as widows | |
4 | מֵימֵינוּ בְּכֶסֶף שָׁתִינוּ עֵצֵינוּ בִּמְחִיר יָבֹאוּ | our water for money we drink and our wood comes at a price | |
5 | עַל צַוָּארֵנוּ נִרְדָּפְנוּ יָגַעְנוּ וְלֹא הוּנַח לָנוּ | on our necks persecution we labour and there is no rest for us | |
6 | מִצְרַיִם נָתַנּוּ יָד אַשּׁוּר לִשְׂבֹּעַ לָחֶם | Egypt - we give a hand Assyria - to be satisfied with bread | |
7 | אֲבֹתֵינוּ חָטְאוּ וְאֵינָם וַאֲנַחְנוּ עֲוֹנֹתֵיהֶם סָבָלְנוּ | Our fathers sinned and there is no them and we ourselves their iniquities bear | |
8 | עֲבָדִים מָשְׁלוּ בָנוּ פֹּרֵק אֵין מִיָּדָם | Servants rule over us there is no one to break from their hand | |
9 | בְּנַפְשֵׁנוּ נָבִיא לַחְמֵנוּ מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב הַמִּדְבָּר | with our lives we are come to our bread from the edge of the sword in the desert | |
10 | עוֹרֵנוּ כְּתַנּוּר נִכְמָרוּ מִפְּנֵי זַלְעֲפוֹת רָעָב | our skin is hot as an oven in the face of the ferocities of famine | |
11 | נָשִׁים בְּצִיּוֹן עִנּוּ בְּתֻלֹת בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה | they humiliated the women in Zion the virgins of the cities of Judah | now a switch to third person plural |
12 | שָׂרִים בְּיָדָם נִתְלוּ פְּנֵי זְקֵנִים לֹא נֶהְדָּרוּ | Princes by their hand are hanged the faces of the elders they do not honour | |
13 | בַּחוּרִים טְחוֹן נָשָׂאוּ וּנְעָרִים בָּעֵץ כָּשָׁלוּ | they bear youth to grind and the lads fail under the wood | elders, youth, and virgins (and fail where fall might be better) all hearken back to chapter 1 - though the links between 1 and 5 seem not as plentiful as those between 2 and 4. No diagrams to prove it yet though. |
14 | זְקֵנִים מִשַּׁעַר שָׁבָתוּ בַּחוּרִים מִנְּגִינָתָם | The elders from the gate have ceased the youth from their strings | |
15 | שָׁבַת מְשׂוֹשׂ לִבֵּנוּ נֶהְפַּךְ לְאֵבֶל מְחֹלֵנוּ | Ceased is the joy of our hearts turned to lament is our dance | Now back to first person plural without ceasing |
16 | נָפְלָה עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשֵׁנוּ אוֹי נָא לָנוּ כִּי חָטָאנוּ | fallen the crown of our head alas now for us for we have sinned | |
17 | עַל זֶה הָיָה דָוֶה לִבֵּנוּ עַל אֵלֶּה חָשְׁכוּ עֵינֵינוּ | because of this our heart has become faint because of these black are our eyes | faint Lam 1:13 black Lam 4:8 - not in a framing position so perhaps a different gloss is called for |
18 | עַל הַר צִיּוֹן שֶׁשָּׁמֵם שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ-בוֹ פ | because the hill of Zion is desolate foxes go about on it | an interpretation of the foxes of Song 2:15? |
19 | אַתָּה יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם תֵּשֵׁב כִּסְאֲךָ לְדוֹר וָדוֹר | You יְהוָה remain for ever your throne from age to age | |
20 | לָמָּה לָנֶצַח תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ תַּעַזְבֵנוּ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים | Why in perpetuity do you forget us and forsake us for such a length of days | |
21 | הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם | Turn us יְהוָה to you and we will be turned refresh our days as of old | Psalm 90 - a poem on turning, and Psalm 80:3-4 |
22 | כִּי אִם-מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ קָצַפְתָּ עָלֵינוּ עַד-מְאֹד ש | For if to reject you reject us you are displeased with us very severely |
For there is a language of flowers
for flowers are peculiarly, the poetry of Christ (Christopher Smart)
א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת
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Monday 12 April 2010
Lamentations 5
Translating without the constraint of the acrostic. This is a very sad prayer. I have almost nothing to say.
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