Lamentations 3:34–66

³⁴Every time people crush prisoners under their feet,

the Lord knows all about it.

³⁵When people refuse to give a man his rights,

the Most High God knows it.

³⁶When people don’t treat a man fairly,

the Lord knows it.

³⁷Suppose people order something to happen.

It won’t happen unless the Lord has planned it.

³⁸Troubles and good things alike come to people

because the Most High God has commanded them to come.

³⁹A man who is still alive shouldn’t blame God

when God punishes him for his sins.

⁴⁰Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living.

Let’s return to the Lord.

⁴¹Let’s lift up our hands to God in heaven.

Let’s pray to him with all our hearts.

⁴²Let’s say, “We have sinned.

We’ve refused to obey you.

And you haven’t forgiven us.

⁴³“You have covered yourself with the cloud of your anger.

You have chased us.

You have killed our people without pity.

⁴⁴You have covered yourself with the cloud of your anger.

Our prayers can’t get through to you.

⁴⁵You have made us become like trash and garbage

among the nations.

⁴⁶“All of our enemies have opened their mouths wide

to swallow us up.

⁴⁷We are terrified and trapped.

We are broken and destroyed.”

⁴⁸Streams of tears flow from my eyes.

That’s because my people are destroyed.

⁴⁹Tears will never stop flowing from my eyes.

My eyes can’t get any rest.

⁵⁰I’ll sob until the Lord looks down from heaven.

I’ll cry until he notices my tears.

⁵¹What I see brings pain to my spirit.

All of the people in my city are suffering so much.

⁵²Those who were my enemies for no reason at all

hunted me down as if I were a bird.

⁵³They tried to end my life

by throwing me into a deep pit.

They threw stones down at me.

⁵⁴The water rose and covered my head.

I thought I was going to die.

⁵⁵Lord, I called out to you.

I called out from the bottom of the pit.

⁵⁶I prayed, “Please don’t close your ears

to my cry for help.”

And you heard my appeal.

⁵⁷You came near when I called out to you.

You said, “Do not be afraid.”

⁵⁸Lord, you stood up for me in court.

You saved my life and set me free.

⁵⁹Lord, you have seen the wrong things

people have done to me.

Stand up for me again!

⁶⁰You have seen how my enemies

have tried to get even with me.

You know all about their plans against me.

⁶¹Lord, you have heard them laugh at me.

You know all about their plans against me.

⁶²You have heard my enemies

whispering among themselves.

They speak against me all day long.

⁶³Just look at them sitting and standing there!

They sing and make fun of me.

⁶⁴Lord, pay them back.

Punish them for what their hands have done.

⁶⁵Cover their minds with a veil.

Put a curse on them!

⁶⁶Lord, get angry with them and hunt them down.

Wipe them off the face of the earth.