“Lord, remember what has happened to us. See how we have been disgraced! Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. We are orphaned and fatherless. Our mothers are widowed. We have to pay for water to drink, and even firewood is expensive. Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted but given no rest. We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive. Our ancestors sinned, but they have died – and we are suffering for the punishment they deserved! ” (vv. 1-7, NLT)
“But Lord, You remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation. Why do You continue to forget us? Why have you abandoned us for so long? Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to You again! Give us back the joys we once had! Or have You utterly rejected us? Are You still angry with us still?” (vv. 19-22, NLT)