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Lamentations chapter 5 in Hebrew and English

22 verses, about 2 minutes to read aloud. The Hebrew has its vowel points and the English stands under each verse.

The whole chapter is here, a verse to a line.

זְכֹר יְהוָה מֶה־הָיָה לָנוּ הַבִּיטָה וּרְאֵה אֶת־חֶרְפָּתֵֽנוּ׃

Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us; Behold, and see our reproach.

נַחֲלָתֵנוּ נֶהֶפְכָה לְזָרִים בָּתֵּינוּ לְנָכְרִֽים׃

Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, Our houses unto aliens.

יְתוֹמִים הָיִינוּ וְאֵין אָב אִמֹּתֵינוּ כְּאַלְמָנֽוֹת׃

We are become orphans and fatherless, Our mothers are as widows.

מֵימֵינוּ בְּכֶסֶף שָׁתִינוּ עֵצֵינוּ בִּמְחִיר יָבֹֽאוּ׃

We have drunk our water for money; Our wood cometh to us for price.

עַל צַוָּארֵנוּ נִרְדָּפְנוּ יָגַעְנוּ וְלֹא הוּנַח לָֽנוּ׃

To our very necks we are pursued; We labour, and have no rest.

מִצְרַיִם נָתַנּוּ יָד אַשּׁוּר לִשְׂבֹּעַ לָֽחֶם׃

We have given the hand to Egypt, And to Assyria, to have bread enough;

אֲבֹתֵינוּ חָטְאוּ וְאֵינָם וַאֲנַחְנוּ עֲוֺנֹתֵיהֶם סָבָֽלְנוּ׃

Our fathers have sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.

עֲבָדִים מָשְׁלוּ בָנוּ פֹּרֵק אֵין מִיָּדָֽם׃

Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us out of their hand.

בְּנַפְשֵׁנוּ נָבִיא לַחְמֵנוּ מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃

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

עוֹרֵנוּ כְּתַנּוּר נִכְמָרוּ מִפְּנֵי זַלְעֲפוֹת רָעָֽב׃

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

נָשִׁים בְּצִיּוֹן עִנּוּ בְּתֻלֹת בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָֽה׃

They have ravished the women in Zion, The maidens in the cities of Judah.

שָׂרִים בְּיָדָם נִתְלוּ פְּנֵי זְקֵנִים לֹא נֶהְדָּֽרוּ׃

Princes are hanged up by their hand; The faces of elders are not honoured.

בַּחוּרִים טְחוֹן נָשָׂאוּ וּנְעָרִים בָּעֵץ כָּשָֽׁלוּ׃

The young men have borne the mill, And the children have stumbled under the wood.

זְקֵנִים מִשַּׁעַר שָׁבָתוּ בַּחוּרִים מִנְּגִינָתָֽם׃

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

שָׁבַת מְשׂוֹשׂ לִבֵּנוּ נֶהְפַּךְ לְאֵבֶל מְחֹלֵֽנוּ׃

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

נָפְלָה עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשֵׁנוּ אוֹי־נָא לָנוּ כִּי חָטָֽאנוּ׃

The crown is fallen from our head; Woe unto us! for we have sinned.

עַל־זֶה הָיָה דָוֶה לִבֵּנוּ עַל־אֵלֶּה חָשְׁכוּ עֵינֵֽינוּ׃

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

עַל הַר־צִיּוֹן שֶׁשָּׁמֵם שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ־בֽוֹ׃

For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, The foxes walk upon it.

אַתָּה יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם תֵּשֵׁב כִּסְאֲךָ לְדֹר וָדֽוֹר׃

Thou, O LORD, art enthroned for ever, Thy throne is from generation to generation.

לָמָּה לָנֶצַח תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ תַּעַזְבֵנוּ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִֽים׃

Wherefore dost Thou forget us for ever, And forsake us so long time?

הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃

Turn Thou us unto Thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.

כִּי אִם־מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ קָצַפְתָּ עָלֵינוּ עַד־מְאֹֽד׃

Thou canst not have utterly rejected us, And be exceeding wroth against us! [Turn us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.]

The Hebrew is the Leningrad Codex, free to view and copy, compared letter by letter with a second edition, Miqra according to the Masorah, under the CC BY-SA licence. The English is the Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, in the public domain.

Where this chapter stands in the Tanakh.

  • Chapter 5 of the 5 chapters of Lamentations
  • Lamentations is one of the Writings
  • 22 verses, 145 words, about 2 minutes to read

Lamentations has 5 chapters, and each one has its own page.

All of Lamentations·All the books of the Tanakh·Psalms and prayers

Questions about this chapter

How many verses does Lamentations chapter 5 have?

Lamentations chapter 5 has 22 verses and 145 words.

How does Lamentations chapter 5 begin?

The first verse begins in Hebrew with the words זכר ה׳ מה־היה לנו.

Where does Lamentations chapter 5 stand in the Tanakh?

It is chapter 5 of the 5 chapters of Lamentations, which is one of the Writings.

How long does it take to read Lamentations chapter 5?

About 2 minutes, at a steady pace.