Lamentations 3:1–20

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

10 Like a bear lying in wait,

like a liony in hiding,z

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

20 I well remember them,

and my soul is downcastp within me.q