Lamentations 3:19–33

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall!

My soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man that he bear

the yoke in his youth.

Let him sit alone in silence

when it is laid on him;

let him put his mouth in the dust—

there may yet be hope;

let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,

and let him be filled with insults.

For the Lord will not

cast off forever,

for, though he cause grief, he will have compassion

according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

for he does not afflict from his heart

or grieve the children of men.

I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.

Let him sit alone in silence,

for the Lord has laid it on him.

Let him bury his face in the dust—

there may yet be hope.

Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,

and let him be filled with disgrace.

For no one is cast off

by the Lord forever.

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to anyone.

Remember my affliction and my homelessness,

the wormwood and the poison.

I continually remember them

and have become depressed.

Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s faithful love

we do not perish,

for his mercies never end.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness!

I say, “The Lord is my portion,

therefore I will put my hope in him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the person who seeks him.

It is good to wait quietly

for salvation from the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

Let him sit alone and be silent,

for God has disciplined him.

Let him put his mouth in the dust —

perhaps there is still hope.

Let him offer his cheek

to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with disgrace.

For the Lord

will not reject us forever.

Even if he causes suffering,

he will show compassion

according to the abundance of his faithful love.

For he does not enjoy bringing affliction

or suffering on mankind.

The thought of my suffering and homelessness

is bitter beyond words.

I will never forget this awful time,

as I grieve over my loss.

Yet I still dare to hope

when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;

his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;

therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,

to those who search for him.

So it is good to wait quietly

for salvation from the Lord.

And it is good for people to submit at an early age

to the yoke of his discipline:

Let them sit alone in silence

beneath the Lord’s demands.

Let them lie face down in the dust,

for there may be hope at last.

Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them

and accept the insults of their enemies.

For no one is abandoned

by the Lord forever.

Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion

because of the greatness of his unfailing love.

For he does not enjoy hurting people

or causing them sorrow.

Remember my misery and bitterness,

the wormwood and venom!

Surely my soul remembers

and bows down within me.

This I have reminded myself,

therefore I will hope.

The loyal love of Yahweh does not cease;

his compassions do not come to an end.

They are new in the morning,

great is your faithfulness.

“Yahweh is my portion,”

says my soul,

“Thus I will hope on him.”

Yahweh is good to those who wait on him,

to the person that seeks him.

It is good to wait in silence

for the salvation of Yahweh.

It is good for a man who carries

the yoke of his childhood.

Let him sit alone and be silent

when he has laid it on him.

Let him put his mouth in the dust;

perhaps there is hope.

Let him give a cheek to his smiter,

let him be filled with disgrace.

For the Lord will not reject

forever.

For even though he causes grief he has compassion

according to the greatness of his loyal love.

He does not afflict willingly,

or grieve anyone.

Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.