Lamentations 3:1–20

I 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