Lamentations 3

I am one who has seen affliction^j

by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.^k

He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness^l rather than light;

indeed, he has turned his hand against me^m

again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and my flesh grow oldⁿ

and has broken my bones.^o

He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness^p and hardship.^q

He has made me dwell in darkness

like those long dead.^r

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

he has weighed me down with chains.^t

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

he shuts out my prayer.^v

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

he has made my paths crooked.^x

Like a bear lying in wait,

like a lion^y in hiding,^z

he dragged me from the path and mangled^a me

and left me without help.

He drew his bow^b

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

He pierced^e my heart

with arrows from his quiver.^f

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

they mock me in songⁱ all day long.

He has filled me with bitter herbs

and sated me with gall.^j

He has broken my teeth with gravel;^k

he has trampled me in the dust.^l

I have been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

So I say, “My splendor is gone

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

I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitternessⁿ and the gall.^o

I well remember them,

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

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

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

for his compassions never fail.^t

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.^u

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

therefore I will wait for him.”

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

to the one who seeks him;^w

it is good to wait quietly^x

for the salvation of the Lord.^y

It is good for people to bear the yoke

while they are young.

Let them sit alone in silence,^z

for the Lord has laid it on them.

Let them bury their faces in the dust^a—

there may yet be hope.^b

Let them offer their cheeks to one who would strike them,^c

and let them be filled with disgrace.^d

For people are not cast off

by the Lord forever.^e

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.^f

For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to any human being.^g

To crush underfoot

all prisoners in the land,

to deny people their rights

before the Most High,^h

to deprive them of justice—

would not the Lord see such things?ⁱ

Who can speak and have it happen

if the Lord has not decreed it?^j

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that both calamities and good things come?^k

Why should the living complain

when punished for their sins?^l

Let us examine our ways and test them,^m

and let us return to the Lord.ⁿ

Let us lift up our hearts and our hands

to God in heaven,^o and say:

“We have sinned and rebelled^p

and you have not forgiven.^q

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

you have slain without pity.^s

You have covered yourself with a cloud^t

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

You have made us scum^w and refuse

among the nations.

“All our enemies have opened their mouths

wide^x against us.^y

We have suffered terror and pitfalls,^z

ruin and destruction.^a”

Streams of tears^b flow from my eyes^c

because my people are destroyed.^d

My eyes will flow unceasingly,

without relief,^e

until the Lord looks down

from heaven and sees.^f

What I see brings grief to my soul

because of all the women of my city.

Those who were my enemies without cause

hunted me like a bird.^g

They tried to end my life in a pit^h

and threw stones at me;

the waters closed over my head,ⁱ

and I thought I was about to perish.^j

I called on your name, Lord,

from the depths^k of the pit.^l

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

to my cry for relief.”

You came nearⁿ when I called you,

and you said, “Do not fear.”^o

You, Lord, took up my case;^p

you redeemed my life.^q

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

Uphold my cause!^s

You have seen the depth of their vengeance,

all their plots against me.^t

Lord, you have heard their insults,^u

all their plots against me—

what my enemies whisper and mutter

against me all day long.^v

Look at them! Sitting or standing,

they mock me in their songs.^w

Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,

for what their hands have done.^x

Put a veil over their hearts,^y

and may your curse be on them!

Pursue^z them in anger and destroy them

from under the heavens of the Lord.