Lamentations 3:1–20

God Locked Me Up in Deep Darkness

^1–33I’m the man who has seen trouble,

trouble coming from the lash of God’s anger.

He took me by the hand and walked me

into pitch-black darkness.

Yes, he’s given me the back of his hand

over and over and over again.

^4–6He turned me into a scarecrow

of skin and bones, then broke the bones.

He hemmed me in, ganged up on me,

poured on the trouble and hard times.

He locked me up in deep darkness,

like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.

^7–9He shuts me in so I’ll never get out,

manacles my hands, shackles my feet.

Even when I cry out and plead for help,

he locks up my prayers and throws away the key.

He sets up blockades with quarried limestone.

He’s got me cornered.

^10–12He’s a prowling bear tracking me down,

a lion in hiding ready to pounce.

He knocked me from the path and ripped me to pieces.

When he finished, there was nothing left of me.

He took out his bow and arrows

and used me for target practice.

^13–15He shot me in the stomach

with arrows from his quiver.

Everyone took me for a joke,

made me the butt of their mocking ballads.

He forced rotten, stinking food down my throat,

bloated me with vile drinks.

^16–18He ground my face into the gravel.

He pounded me into the mud.

I gave up on life altogether.

I’ve forgotten what the good life is like.

I said to myself, “This is it. I’m finished.

God is a lost cause.”

It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

^19–21I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,

the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.

I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—

the feeling of hitting the bottom.