Lamentations 3:34–66

Lamedh

³⁴To crush under His feet

All the prisoners of the ¹land,

³⁵To ¹deprive a man of ^ajustice

In the presence of the Most High,

³⁶To ^1adefraud a man in his legal case—

These things the Lord does not see with approval.

Mem

³⁷Who is ¹there who speaks and it ^ahappens,

Unless the Lord has commanded it?

³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

That ^aboth calamities and ¹good go forth?

³⁹Why should any living ¹person or any man

^aComplain because of his sins?

Nun

⁴⁰Let us ^asearch out and examine our ways,

And let us return to Yahweh.

⁴¹We ^alift up our heart to our hands

Toward God in heaven;

⁴²We have ^atransgressed and rebelled;

You have ^bnot pardoned.

Samekh

⁴³You have covered Yourself with ^aanger

And ^bpursued us;

You have killed and ^chave not spared.

⁴⁴You have ^acovered Yourself with a cloud

So that ^bno prayer can pass through.

⁴⁵You have made us mere ^ascum and refuse

In the midst of the peoples.

Pe

⁴⁶All our enemies have ^aopened their mouths against us.

^47aPanic and pitfall have befallen us,

Devastation and destruction;

⁴⁸My ^1aeyes run down with streams of water

Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Ayin

⁴⁹My eyes pour down ^aunceasingly,

Without stopping,

⁵⁰Until Yahweh ^alooks down

And sees from heaven.

⁵¹My eyes deal severely with my soul

Because of all the daughters of my city.

Tsadhe

⁵²My enemies ^awithout cause

Hunted me down ^blike a bird;

⁵³They have silenced my life ^ain the pit

And have ^1bplaced a stone on me.

⁵⁴Waters flowed ^aover my head;

I said, “I am cut off!”

Qoph

⁵⁵I ^acalled on Your name, O Yahweh,

Out of the lowest pit.

⁵⁶You have ^aheard my voice,

“^bDo not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,

From my cry for help.”

⁵⁷You ^adrew near when I called on You;

You said, “^bDo not fear!”

Resh

⁵⁸O Lord, You ^ahave pleaded my soul’s cause;

You have ^bredeemed my life.

⁵⁹O Yahweh, You have ^aseen my oppression;

^bJudge my case.

⁶⁰You have seen all their vengeance,

All their ^apurposes against me.

Sin / Shin

⁶¹You have heard their ^areproach, O Yahweh,

All their purposes against me.

⁶²The ^alips of those who rise against me and their whispering

Are against me all day long.

⁶³Look on their ^asitting and their rising;

^bI am their mocking song.

Tav

⁶⁴You will ^arecompense them, O Yahweh,

According to the work of their hands.

⁶⁵You will give them ^1adullness of heart;

Your curse will be on them.

⁶⁶You will ^apursue them in anger and destroy them

From under the ^bheavens of Yahweh!