Lamentations 3–5

3^aI am the man who has seen affliction^j

by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.^k

²He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness^l rather than light;

³indeed, he has turned his hand against me^m

again and again, all day long.

⁴He has made my skin and my flesh grow oldⁿ

and has broken my bones.^o

⁵He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness^p and hardship.^q

⁶He has made me dwell in darkness

like those long dead.^r

⁷He has walled me in so I cannot escape;^s

he has weighed me down with chains.^t

⁸Even when I call out or cry for help,^u

he shuts out my prayer.^v

⁹He has barred^w my way with blocks of stone;

he has made my paths crooked.^x

¹⁰Like a bear lying in wait,

like a lion^y in hiding,^z

¹¹he dragged me from the path and mangled^a me

and left me without help.

¹²He drew his bow^b

and made me the target^c for his arrows.^d

¹³He pierced^e my heart

with arrows from his quiver.^f

¹⁴I became the laughingstock^g of all my people;^h

they mock me in songⁱ all day long.

¹⁵He has filled me with bitter herbs

and given me gall to drink.^j

¹⁶He has broken my teeth with gravel;^k

he has trampled me in the dust.^l

¹⁷I have been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

¹⁸So I say, “My splendor is gone

and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”^m

¹⁹I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitternessⁿ and the gall.^o

²⁰I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast^p within me.^q

²¹Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the Lord’s great love^r we are not consumed,^s

for his compassions never fail.^t

²³They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.^u

²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;^v

therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;^w

²⁶it is good to wait quietly^x

for the salvation of the Lord.^y

²⁷It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.

²⁸Let him sit alone in silence,^z

for the Lord has laid it on him.

²⁹Let him bury his face in the dust^a—

there may yet be hope.^b

³⁰Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,^c

and let him be filled with disgrace.^d

³¹For no one is cast off

by the Lord forever.^e

³²Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.^f

³³For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to anyone.^g

³⁴To crush underfoot

all prisoners in the land,

³⁵to deny people their rights

before the Most High,^h

³⁶to deprive them of justice—

would not the Lord see such things?ⁱ

³⁷Who can speak and have it happen

if the Lord has not decreed it?^j

³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that both calamities and good things come?^k

³⁹Why should the living complain

when punished for their sins?^l

⁴⁰Let us examine our ways and test them,^m

and let us return to the Lord.ⁿ

⁴¹Let us lift up our hearts and our hands

to God in heaven,^o and say:

⁴²“We have sinned and rebelled^p

and you have not forgiven.^q

⁴³“You have covered yourself with anger and pursued^r us;

you have slain without pity.^s

⁴⁴You have covered yourself with a cloud^t

so that no prayer^u can get through.^v

⁴⁵You have made us scum^w and refuse

among the nations.

⁴⁶“All our enemies have opened their mouths

wide^x against us.^y

⁴⁷We have suffered terror and pitfalls,^z

ruin and destruction.^a”

⁴⁸Streams of tears^b flow from my eyes^c

because my people are destroyed.^d

⁴⁹My eyes will flow unceasingly,

without relief,^e

⁵⁰until the Lord looks down

from heaven and sees.^f

⁵¹What I see brings grief to my soul

because of all the women of my city.

⁵²Those who were my enemies without cause

hunted me like a bird.^g

⁵³They tried to end my life in a pit^h

and threw stones at me;

⁵⁴the waters closed over my head,ⁱ

and I thought I was about to perish.^j

⁵⁵I called on your name, Lord,

from the depths^k of the pit.^l

⁵⁶You heard my plea:^m “Do not close your ears

to my cry for relief.”

⁵⁷You came nearⁿ when I called you,

and you said, “Do not fear.”^o

⁵⁸You, Lord, took up my case;^p

you redeemed my life.^q

⁵⁹Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.^r

Uphold my cause!^s

⁶⁰You have seen the depth of their vengeance,

all their plots against me.^t

⁶¹Lord, you have heard their insults,^u

all their plots against me—

⁶²what my enemies whisper and mutter

against me all day long.^v

⁶³Look at them! Sitting or standing,

they mock me in their songs.^w

⁶⁴Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,

for what their hands have done.^x

⁶⁵Put a veil over their hearts,^y

and may your curse be on them!

⁶⁶Pursue^z them in anger and destroy them

from under the heavens of the Lord.

4^aHow the gold has lost its luster,

the fine gold become dull!

The sacred gems are scattered

at every street corner.^a

²How the precious children of Zion,^b

once worth their weight in gold,

are now considered as pots of clay,

the work of a potter’s hands!

³Even jackals offer their breasts

to nurse their young,

but my people have become heartless

like ostriches in the desert.^c

⁴Because of thirst^d the infant’s tongue

sticks to the roof of its mouth;^e

the children beg for bread,

but no one gives it to them.^f

⁵Those who once ate delicacies

are destitute in the streets.

Those brought up in royal purple^g

now lie on ash heaps.^h

⁶The punishment of my people

is greater than that of Sodom,ⁱ

which was overthrown in a moment

without a hand turned to help her.

⁷Their princes were brighter than snow

and whiter than milk,

their bodies more ruddy than rubies,

their appearance like lapis lazuli.

⁸But now they are blacker^j than soot;

they are not recognized in the streets.

Their skin has shriveled on their bones;^k

it has become as dry as a stick.

⁹Those killed by the sword are better off

than those who die of famine;^l

racked with hunger, they waste away

for lack of food from the field.^m

¹⁰With their own hands compassionate women

have cooked their own children,ⁿ

who became their food

when my people were destroyed.

¹¹The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;^o

he has poured out^p his fierce anger.^q

He kindled a fire^r in Zion

that consumed her foundations.^s

¹²The kings of the earth did not believe,

nor did any of the peoples of the world,

that enemies and foes could enter

the gates of Jerusalem.^t

¹³But it happened because of the sins of her prophets

and the iniquities of her priests,^u

who shed within her

the blood^v of the righteous.

¹⁴Now they grope through the streets

as if they were blind.^w

They are so defiled with blood^x

that no one dares to touch their garments.

¹⁵“Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.

“Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”

When they flee and wander^y about,

people among the nations say,

“They can stay here no longer.”^z

¹⁶The Lord himself has scattered them;

he no longer watches over them.^a

The priests are shown no honor,

the elders^b no favor.^c

¹⁷Moreover, our eyes failed,

looking in vain^d for help;^e

from our towers we watched

for a nation^f that could not save us.

¹⁸People stalked us at every step,

so we could not walk in our streets.

Our end was near, our days were numbered,

for our end had come.^g

¹⁹Our pursuers were swifter

than eagles^h in the sky;

they chased usⁱ over the mountains

and lay in wait for us in the desert.^j

²⁰The Lord’s anointed,^k our very life breath,

was caught in their traps.^l

We thought that under his shadow^m

we would live among the nations.

²¹Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,

you who live in the land of Uz.ⁿ

But to you also the cup^o will be passed;

you will be drunk and stripped naked.^p

²²Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;^q

he will not prolong your exile.

But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,

and expose your wickedness.^r

5Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;

look, and see our disgrace.^s

²Our inheritance^t has been turned over to strangers,^u

our homes^v to foreigners.^w

³We have become fatherless,

our mothers are widows.^x

⁴We must buy the water we drink;^y

our wood can be had only at a price.^z

⁵Those who pursue us are at our heels;

we are weary^a and find no rest.^b

⁶We submitted to Egypt and Assyria^c

to get enough bread.

⁷Our ancestors^d sinned and are no more,

and we bear their punishment.^e

⁸Slaves^f rule over us,

and there is no one to free us from their hands.^g

⁹We get our bread at the risk of our lives

because of the sword in the desert.

¹⁰Our skin is hot as an oven,

feverish from hunger.^h

¹¹Women have been violatedⁱ in Zion,

and virgins in the towns of Judah.

¹²Princes have been hung up by their hands;

elders^j are shown no respect.^k

¹³Young men toil at the millstones;

boys stagger under loads of wood.

¹⁴The elders are gone from the city gate;

the young men have stopped their music.^l

¹⁵Joy is gone from our hearts;

our dancing has turned to mourning.^m

¹⁶The crownⁿ has fallen from our head.^o

Woe to us, for we have sinned!^p

¹⁷Because of this our hearts^q are faint,^r

because of these things our eyes^s grow dim^t

¹⁸for Mount Zion,^u which lies desolate,^v

with jackals prowling over it.

¹⁹You, Lord, reign forever;^w

your throne endures^x from generation to generation.

²⁰Why do you always forget us?^y

Why do you forsake^z us so long?

²¹Restore^a us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;

renew our days as of old

²²unless you have utterly rejected us^b

and are angry with us beyond measure.^c