4. We must pay for the water we drink;we must buy the wood we need for fuel.
5. Driven hard like donkeys or camels,we are tired, but are allowed no rest.
6. To get food enough to stay alive,we went begging to Egypt and Assyria.
7. Our ancestors sinned, but now they are gone,and we are suffering for their sins.
8. We are ruled by those who are no better than slaves,and no one can save us from their power.
9. Murderers roam through the countryside;we risk our lives when we look for food.
10. Hunger has made us burn with fever,until our skin is as hot as an oven.
11. Our wives have been raped on Mount Zion itself;in every Judean village our daughters have been forced to submit.
12. Our leaders have been taken and hanged;our elders are shown no respect.
13. Our young men are forced to grind corn like slaves;boys go staggering under heavy loads of wood.
14. The old people no longer sit at the city gate,and the young people no longer make music.
15. Happiness has gone out of our lives;grief has taken the place of our dances.
16. Nothing is left of all we were proud of.We sinned, and now we are doomed.
17. We are sick at our very heartsand can hardly see through our tears,