Lamentations 3
3 a I am the man who has seen afflictionj
by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.k
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darknessl rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against mem
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow oldn
and has broken my bones.o
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitternessp and hardship.q
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.r
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;s
he has weighed me down with chains.t
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,u
he shuts out my prayer.v
9 He has barredw my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.x
11 he dragged me from the path and mangleda me
and left me without help.
12 He drew his bowb
and made me the targetc for his arrows.d
13 He piercede my heart
with arrows from his quiver.f
14 I became the laughingstockg of all my people;h
they mock me in songi all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and given me gall to drink.j
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;k
he has trampled me in the dust.l
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”m
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitternessn and the gall.o
and my soul is downcastp within me.q
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great lover we are not consumed,s
for his compassions never fail.t
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.u
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;v
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;w
26 it is good to wait quietlyx
for the salvation of the Lord.y
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,z
for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dusta—
there may yet be hope.b
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,c
and let him be filled with disgrace.d
by the Lord forever.e
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.f
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.g
all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
before the Most High,h
36 to deprive them of justice—
would not the Lord see such things?i
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?j
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?k
39 Why should the living complain
when punished for their sins?l
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,m
and let us return to the Lord.n
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven,o and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelledp
and you have not forgiven.q
43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursuedr us;
you have slain without pity.s
44 You have covered yourself with a cloudt
so that no prayeru can get through.v
45 You have made us scumw and refuse
among the nations.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,z
ruin and destruction.a”
48 Streams of tearsb flow from my eyesc
because my people are destroyed.d
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
without relief,e
from heaven and sees.f
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
because of all the women of my city.
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
hunted me like a bird.g
53 They tried to end my life in a pith
and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,i
and I thought I was about to perish.j
55 I called on your name, Lord,
56 You heard my plea:m “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
57 You came nearn when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”o
58 You, Lord, took up my case;p
you redeemed my life.q
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.r
Uphold my cause!s
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their plots against me.t
61 Lord, you have heard their insults,u
all their plots against me—
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter
against me all day long.v
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
they mock me in their songs.w
64 Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
for what their hands have done.x
65 Put a veil over their hearts,y
and may your curse be on them!
66 Pursuez them in anger and destroy them
from under the heavens of the Lord.