The verbs in the two parts of this verse are imperatives, pleas that the LORD will restore or bring the people of Jerusalem back again to himself.

Restore us is a prayer, plea, or request that recognizes the separation between God and his people. Good News Translation says “Bring us back to you.” We may also say, for example, “Cause us to return to you” or “Take us back again.” The second form of the same word, translated that we may be restored may mean “and we will return” (AB) and may also be expressed “so that we may return to you.” In other words, the only hope for the people is that God himself will enable them to do what they cannot do by themselves, and will make them come back to serve him.

In the second half of the verse the poet appeals for the situation in Jerusalem to be once again what it had been before the invasion by the enemy; that is, he appeals for the restoration of worship in the Temple and political freedom from oppression.

Renew our days is a plea for the LORD to cause the people to be as they were in former times. In a general sense our days can mean “our lives.” Good News Translation makes it refer to the former situation of the people, with “our ancient glory,” that is, “the glory that we used to have.” We may also translate, for example, “Make us as great as we were before the enemy defeated us” or, more generally, “Cause us to live again as we lived in former times.”

In translating these imperatives as pleas or prayers, it may be necessary to say “We ask you to restore us…,” “We pray that you will take us back again,” or “We pray that you will make us as great as we were….”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .