Lamentations 3

3I am ^athe man that ^bhath seen affliction ^cby the rod of his wrath.

²He hath led me, and ^dbrought me into darkness, but not into light.

³Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

⁴My flesh and my skin ^ehath he made old; ^fhe hath broken my bones.

^5gHe hath builded against me, and ^hcompassed me with ⁱgall and ^ktravail.

^6lHe hath set me in dark places, ^las they that be dead of old.

^7mHe hath hedged me about, ⁿthat I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

⁸Also ^owhen I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

^9mHe hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath ^pmade my paths crooked.

¹⁰He was unto me as ^qa bear lying in wait, and as ^ra lion in secret places.

¹¹He hath turned aside my ways, and ^spulled me in pieces: he hath made me ^tdesolate.

¹²He ^uhath bent his bow, and ^vset me as a mark for the arrow.

^13wHe hath caused the ^†arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

¹⁴I was ^xa derision to all my people; and ^ytheir song all the day.

^15zHe hath filled me with ^†bitterness, ^ahe hath made me drunken with wormwood.

¹⁶He hath also broken my teeth with ^bgravel stones, he hath ^||covered me with ashes.

¹⁷And thou hast ^bbremoved my soul far off from peace: I forgat ^†prosperity.

^18cAnd I said, ^ccMy strength and ^dmy hope is perished from the Lord:

^19||Remembering mine ^eaffliction and my ^emisery, ^athe wormwood and ^fthe gall.

²⁰My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is ^†humbled in me.

²¹This I ^†recall to my mind, ^ftherefore have I hope.

²²It is of the Lord’s mercies that ^ghwe are not consumed, ^hbecause his compassions fail not.

²³They are new ⁱevery morning: ^kgreat is thy faithfulness.

²⁴The Lord is ^lmy portion, saith ^mmy soul; ^ftherefore ^mwill I hope in him.

²⁵The Lord is good unto them ⁿthat wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

²⁶It is good that a man should both ^ophope and ^pqquietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

^27qqIt is good for a man ^rthat he bear the yoke ^sin his youth.

^28tHe sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

^29uHe putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

^30vHe giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

³¹For the Lord will not ^bbcast off for ever:

³²But though he ^wcause grief, yet will he have compassion ^xaccording to the multitude of his mercies.

³³For ^yhe doth not ^wafflict ^†willingly nor ^wgrieve the children of men.

³⁴To crush under his feet all ^zthe prisoners of the earth,

³⁵To turn aside the right of a man before the face of ^||athe most High,

³⁶To ^bsubvert a man in his cause, ^cthe Lord ^||approveth not.

^37dWho is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?

³⁸Out of the mouth of ^athe most High proceedeth not ^eevil and good?

^39fWherefore doth a living man ^||complain, ^ga man for ^hthe punishment of his sins?

⁴⁰Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.

⁴¹ⁱLet us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

^42kWe have transgressed and ^lhave rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.

⁴³Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: ^mthou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

⁴⁴Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, ⁿthat our prayer should not pass through.

⁴⁵Thou hast made us as ^othe offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

^46pAll our enemies ^qhave opened their mouths against us.

^47rFear and ^ra snare is come upon us, desolation and ^sdestruction.

^48tMine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

^49pMine eye ^utrickleth down, and ^vceaseth not, ^uwithout any intermission,

⁵⁰Till ^wthe Lord look down, and behold from heaven.

⁵¹Mine eye ^xaffecteth ^†mine heart ^||because of all the daughters of my city.

⁵²Mine enemies ^ychased me sore, ^zlike a bird, ^awithout cause.

⁵³They have ^bcut off my life ^cin the dungeon, and ^dcast a stone upon me.

^54eWaters flowed over mine head; then ^fI said, ^fgI am cut off.

^55hI called upon thy name, O Lord, ⁱout of the low dungeon.

^56hkThou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my ^lbreathing, at my cry.

^57mThou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: ⁿthou saidst, Fear not.

⁵⁸O Lord, thou hast ^oppleaded the causes of my soul; ^pqthou hast redeemed my life.

⁵⁹O Lord, thou hast seen my ^rwrong: ^sjudge thou my cause.

⁶⁰Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all ^ttheir imaginations against me.

⁶¹Thou hast heard ^tttheir reproach, O Lord, and all ^ttheir imaginations against me;

⁶²The lips of ^uthose that rose up against me, and their ^vdevice against me all the day.

⁶³Behold their ^wsitting down, and their ^wrising up; ^xI am their musick.

^64yzRender unto them a recompence, O Lord, ^yaccording to the work of their hands.

^65zGive them ^||sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

^66zPersecute and destroy them in anger ^afrom under ^bthe heavens of the Lord.