Lamentations 5

 

There are six errors indicated in this chapter.  I address them all here so that I don’t have to deal with them piecemeal.  They appear in vss. 1, 3, 5, 7 (2 errors in this verse), and 21.  All but the first and the last involve allegedly missing vavs.  The first, below, is missing a heh suffix.  The correction is in the brackets.  The last, in v. 21, also is missing a heh suffix, and the correction is in the brackets there.  As for the other four “errors,” they are alleged to have missing vavs, which are added in the “corrections” in the respective brackets.  But I have found no reasonable evidence that any of them is indeed necessary.  The three verses translate properly and meaningfully  without the vavs.  As you may already know, I am reluctant to agree to uncertain or assumed errors.

זְכֹר יְהוָה מֶה־הָיָה לָנוּ (הַבֵּיט) [הַבִּיטָה] וּרְאֵה אֶת־חֶרְפָּתֵנוּ׃   5:1

Lame. 5:1   Lord, remember what has happened to us!

                               Look, and see our reproach.

נַחֲלָתֵנוּ נֶהֶפְכָה לְזָרִים בָּתֵּינוּ לְנָכְרִים׃   5:2

Lame. 5:2   Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,

                               our houses to aliens.

יְתֹומִים הָיִינוּ (אֵין) [וְאֵין] אָב אִמֹּתֵינוּ כְּאַלְמָנֹות׃   5:3

Lame. 5:3   We have become orphans, without a father.

                               Our mothers are like widows.

מֵימֵינוּ בְּכֶסֶף שָׁתִינוּ עֵצֵינוּ בִּמְחִיר יָבֹאוּ׃   5:4

Lame. 5:4   We drink our water with money,

                               our wood must come with a price.

עַל צַוָּארֵנוּ נִרְדָּפְנוּ יָגַעְנוּ (לֹא) [וְלֹא] הוּנַח־לָנוּ׃   5:5

Lame. 5:5   At our neck we are pursued.

                               We labor; no rest is given to us.

מִצְרַיִם נָתַנּוּ יָד אַשּׁוּר לִשְׂבֹּעַ לָחֶם׃   5:6

Lame. 5:6   We gave Egypt a hand,

                               Assyria, to be full of bread.

אֲבֹתֵינוּ חָטְאוּ (אֵינָם) [וְאֵינָם] (אֲנַחְנוּ) [וַאֲנַחְנוּ] עֲוֹנֹתֵיהֶם סָבָלְנוּ׃   5:7

Lame. 5:7   Our fathers sinned;

                               they are no more;

                      we bore their sins.

עֲבָדִים מָשְׁלוּ בָנוּ פֹּרֵק אֵין מִיָּדָם׃   5:8

Lame. 5:8   Servants ruled on us;

                               there was no one to snatch away from their hand.

בְּנַפְשֵׁנוּ נָבִיא לַחְמֵנוּ מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב הַמִּדְבָּר׃   5:9

Lame. 5:9   We brought in our bread with our life,

                               because of the sword of the wilderness.

עֹורֵנוּ כְּתַנּוּר נִכְמָרוּ מִפְּנֵי זַלְעֲפֹות רָעָב׃   5:10

Lame. 5:10   Our skin was as hot as an oven

                               because of the burning heat of famine.

נָשִׁים בְּצִיֹּון עִנּוּ בְּתֻלֹת בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה׃   5:11

Lame. 5:11   They humiliated women in Zion,

                               maidens in the cities of Judah.

שָׂרִים בְּיָדָם נִתְלוּ פְּנֵי זְקֵנִים לֹא נֶהְדָּרוּ׃   5:12

Lame. 5:12   Princes by their hand were hung up;

                               the faces of elders were not honored.

בַּחוּרִים טְחֹון נָשָׂאוּ וּנְעָרִים בָּעֵץ כָּשָׁלוּ׃   5:13

Lame. 5:13   Young men bore a millstone

                               and boys staggered with wood.

זְקֵנִים מִשַּׁעַר שָׁבָתוּ בַּחוּרִים מִנְּגִינָתָם׃   5:14

Lame. 5:14   Elders from the gate ceased,

                               young men from their music.

שָׁבַת מְשֹׂושׂ לִבֵּנוּ נֶהְפַּךְ לְאֵבֶל מְחֹלֵנוּ׃   5:15

Lame. 5:15   The joy of our heart ceased;

                               our dancing turned to mourning.

נָפְלָה עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשֵׁנוּ אֹוי־נָא לָנוּ כִּי חָטָאנוּ׃   5:16

Lame. 5:16   The crown of our head fell.

                               Now woe to us!

                         For we had sinned.

עַל־זֶה הָיָה דָוֶה לִבֵּנוּ עַל־אֵלֶּה חָשְׁכוּ עֵינֵינוּ׃   5:17

Lame. 5:17   Because of this, our heart has become faint;

                               because of these things, our eyes have grown dim.

עַל הַר־צִיֹּון שֶׁשָּׁםֵם שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ־בֹו׃   5:18

Lame. 5:18   Concerning the mountain of Zion,

                               which is desolate, foxes walk on it.

אַתָּה יְהוָה לְעֹולָם תֵּשֵׁב כִּסְאֲךָ לְדֹר וָדֹור׃   5:19

Lame. 5:19   You, Lord, forever shall remain.

                               Your throne is from generation to generation.

לָמָּה לָנֶצַח תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ תַּעַזְבֵנוּ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים׃   5:20

Lame. 5:20   How could You continually ignore us,

                               forsake us for so long a time!

הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהוָה אֵלֶיךָ (וְנָשׁוּב) [וְנָשׁוּבָה] חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם׃   5:21

Lame. 5:21   Lord, turn us back to You,

                               and we shall come back.

                        Renew our days as of old.

כִּי אִם־מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ קָצַפְתָּ עָלֵינוּ עַד־מְאֹד׃   5:22

Lame. 5:22   But if You utterly rejected us,

                               You are extremely displeased by us.

 

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