3. We are like orphans with no father;our mothers are like widows.
4. We have to buy the water we drink;we must pay for the firewood.
5. Those who chase after us want to catch us by the neck.We are tired and find no rest.
6. We made an agreement with Egyptand with Assyria to get enough food.
7. Our ancestors sinned against you, but they are gone;now we suffer because of their sins.
8. Slaves have become our rulers,and no one can save us from them.
9. We risk our lives to get our food;we face death in the desert.
10. Our skin is hot like an oven;we burn with starvation.
11. The enemy abused the women of Jerusalemand the girls in the cities of Judah.
12. Princes were hung by the hands;they did not respect our elders.
13. The young men ground grain at the mill,and boys stumbled under loads of wood.
14. The elders no longer sit at the city gates;the young men no longer sing.