Lamentations 5:1

¹ O Lord, reflect on ²  what has happened to us; consider ³  and look at ⁴  our disgrace.

Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace.

Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; Look, and see our reproach!

LORD, remember everything that has happened to us. See all the sorrows we bear!

"Remember, GOD, all we've been through. Study our plight, the black mark we've made in history.

Keep in mind, O Lord, what has come to us: take note and see our shame.

Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!

Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and behold our reproach!

¹ O Lord, reflect on ²  what has happened to us; consider ³  and look at ⁴  our disgrace.

¹ sn The speaking voice is now that of a choir singing the community’s lament in the first person plural. The poem is not an alphabetic acrostic like the preceding chapters but has 22 verses, the same as the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

² tn The basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind” (HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר). Although often used of recollection of past events, זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) can also describe consideration of present situations: “to consider, think about” something present (BDB 270 s.v. 5), hence “reflect on,” the most appropriate nuance here. Verses 1-6 describe the present plight of Jerusalem. The parallel requests הַבֵּיט וּרְאֵה (habbet urÿ’eh, “Look and see!”) have a present-time orientation as well. See also 2:1; 3:19-20.

³ tn Heb “Look!” Although often used in reference to visual perception, נָבַט (navat, “to look”) can also refer to cognitive consideration and mental attention shown to a situation: “to regard” (e.g., 1 Sam 16:7; 2 Kgs 3:14), “to pay attention to, consider” (e.g., Isa 22:8; Isa 51:1, 2).

⁴ tn Although normally used in reference to visual sight, רָאָה (ra’ah) is often used in reference to cognitive processes and mental observation. See the note on “Consider” at 2:20.