Lamentations 3:34–66

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.