Humanitext Reader

Septuagint · Lamentations §5.1-5.22

Plea for Restoration in the Midst of Affliction

Passage 5 of 5 · Greek

Summary

The prophet laments the horrific aftermath of Jerusalem's fall, confessing ancestral and present sins while pleading with the eternal Lord for restoration and renewal.

§5.1Μνήσθητι, Κύριε, ὅ τι ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν, ἐπίκκβλεψον καὶ ἴδε τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν.
Remember, O Lord, what has come upon us; look down, and see our disgrace.
§5.2κληρονομία ἡμῶν μετεστράφη ἀλλοτρίοις, οἱ οἶκοι ἡμῶν ξένοις.
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.
§5.3ὀρφανοὶ ἐγενήθημεν, οὐχ ὑπάρχει πατήρ, μητέρες ἡμῶν ὡς αἱ χῆραι.
We have become orphans, without a father; our mothers are like widows.
§5.4ἐξ ἡμερῶν ἡμῶν ξύλα ἡμῶν ἐν ἀλλάγματι ἦλθεν·
Out of our days, our wood has come to us for a price.
§5.5ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον ἡμῶν ἐδιώχθημεν· ἐκοπιάσαμεν, οὐκ ἀνεπαύθημεν.
With a yoke upon our necks we are pursued; we are weary, we are given no rest.
§5.6Aἶγυπτος ἔδωκεν χείρα. Ἀσσοὺρ εἰς πλησμονὴν αὐτῶν.
Egypt gave a hand, and Assyria, to satisfy them.
§5.7οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἥμαρτον, οὐχ ὑπάρχουσιν, ἡμεῖς τὰ ἀνομήματα αὐτῶν ὑπέσχομεν.
Our ancestors sinned and are no more; we have borne their iniquities.
§5.8δοῦλοι ἐκυρίευσαν ἡμῶν, λυτρούμενος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν.
Slaves rule over us; there is no one to deliver us from their hand.
§5.9ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν εἰσοίσομεν ἄρτον ἡμῶν ἀπὸ προσώπου όομφαίας τῆς ἐρήμου.
At the peril of our lives we bring in our bread, because of the sword in the wilderness.
§5.10τὸ δέρμα ἡμῶν ὡς κλίβανος ἐπελιώθη, συνεσπάσθησαν ἀπὸ προσώπου καταιγίδων λιμοῦ.
Our skin is blackened like an oven, they are shriveled because of the heat of famine.
§5.11γυναῖκας ἐν Σειὼν ἐταπείνωσαν, παρθένους ἐν πόλεσιν Ἰούδα.
They ravished women in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah.
§5.12ἄρχοντες ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῶν ἐκρεμάσθησαν, πρεσβύτεροι οὐκ ἐδοξάσθησαν.
Princes were hung up by their hands; elders were not respected.
§5.13ἐκλεκτοὶ κλαυθμὸν ἀνέλαβον, καὶ νεανίσκοι ἐν ξύλῳ ἠσθένησαν.
The chosen ones took up weeping, and young men stumbled under loads of wood.
§5.14καὶ πρεσβῦται ἀπὸ πύλης κατέπαυσαν, ἐκλεκτοὶ ἐκ ψαλμῶν αὐτῶν κατέπαυσαν,
Elders have ceased from the gate, the chosen ones have ceased from their music.
§5.15κατέλυσεν χαρὰ καρδίας ἡμῶν, ἐστράφη εἰς πένθος ὁ χορὸς ἡμῶν,
The joy of our heart has ceased; our dancing has been turned into mourning.
§5.16ἔπεσεν ὁ στέφανος ἡμῶν τῆς κεφαλῆς. οὐαὶ δὴ ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἡμάρτομεν.
The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!
§5.17περὶ τούτου ἐγενήθη ὀδύνη ὀδυνηρὰ ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν. περὶ τούτου ἐσκότασαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν. §5.18ἐπ᾿ ὄρος Σειών, ὅτι ἠφανίσθη, ἀλώπεκες διῆλθον ἐν αὐτῇ.
Because of this our heart has become deeply pained; because of this our eyes have grown dim— for Mount Zion, because it is desolate, foxes prowl upon it.
§5.19σὺ δέ, Κύριε, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κατοικήσεις, ὁ θρόνος σου εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν.
But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to generation and generation.
§5.20ζνα τί εἰς νῖκος ἐπιλήσῃ ἡμῶν; καταλείψεις ἡμᾶς εἰς μακρότητα ἡμερῶν;
Why will you forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time?
§5.21ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς, Κύριε, πρὸς σέ, καὶ ἐπιστραφησόμεθα· καὶ ἀνακαίνισον ἡμέρας ἡμῶν καθὼς ἔμπροσθεν. §5.22ὅτι ἀπωθούμενος ἀπώσω ἡμᾶς, ὐργίσθης ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ἕως σφόδρα.
Restore us, O Lord, to yourself, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old, unless you have utterly rejected us, and are exceedingly angry with us.

Notes

  1. 5.4ἐξ ἡμερῶν ἡμῶν ξύλα ἡμῶν ἐν ἀλλάγματι ἦλθεν — In this specific text, the standard Septuagint phrase 'we drank our water for money (tò hýdōr hēmō̂n eph’ argyríōi epíomen)' is missing, and the segment corresponding to 'water for money' is replaced by the grammatically and contextually difficult 'out of our days (ex hēmerō̂n hēmō̂n)'. While a textual corruption or scribal error is likely, the translation strictly follows the provided text as 'out of our days.'
  2. 5.6Ἀσσοὺρ εἰς πλησμονὴν αὐτῶν — An elliptical construction. Following 'Egypt gave a hand (Aígýptos édōken cheîra)', the subject 'Assyria (Assoùr)' in the second clause also shares the omitted verb 'gave a hand'. The prepositional phrase indicating purpose 'to satisfy them (eis plēsmonḕn autō̂n)' uses the third-person plural pronoun 'autō̂n', which contextually refers either to the foreign nations being appeased or to the Israelites seeking satisfaction from them. The translation maintains a consistent interpretation of seeking alliance to satisfy the foreign powers.
  3. 5.9ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν — A Hebraistic (or Semitic) idiom where the Hebrew 'at the peril of our lives (bənapšēnû)' is translated literally using the Greek preposition 'en' with the plural noun 'psychaí' (souls/lives). It denotes the cost or hazard of an action, meaning 'at the risk of our lives,' which has been rendered appropriately across all languages.
  4. 5.22ὅτι ἀπωθούμενος ἀπώσω ἡμᾶς — The particle 'hóti' here introduces a conditional clause or a rhetorically negative question, interpreted as 'Unless you have utterly rejected us...' or 'Or have you utterly rejected us?'. The construction pairing the present participle 'apōthoúmenos' with its cognate finite verb 'apṓsō' (aorist middle) mimics the Hebrew infinitive absolute construction used for emphasis, creating the meaning of 'utterly/completely reject.'

Cite this passage

Septuagint, Lamentations §5.1-5.22. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0527.tlg051.humanitext-grc1:5.1-5.22

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