Lamentations 3
1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
I am the man, that hath seene affliction in the rod of his indignation.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
He hath ledde mee, and brought me into darkenes, but not to light.
3 Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
Surely he is turned against me: he turneth his hand against me all the day.
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
My flesh and my skinne hath he caused to waxe olde, and he hath broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall, and labour.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
He hath set me in darke places, as they that be dead for euer.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
He hath hedged about mee, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chaines heauy.
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
Also when I cry and showte, hee shutteth out my prayer.
9 He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
He hath stopped vp my wayes with hewen stone, and turned away my paths.
10 He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
He was vnto me as a beare lying in waite, and as a Lion in secret places.
11 He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
He hath stopped my wayes, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.
12 He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
He hath bent his bow and made me a marke for the arrow.
13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
Hee caused the arrowes of his quiuer to enter into my reines.
14 I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
I was a derision to all my people, and their song all the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
He hath filled me with bitternes, and made me drunken with wormewood.
16 He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
He hath also broken my teeth with stones, and hath couered me with ashes.
17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
Thus my soule was farre off from peace: I forgate prosperitie,
18 So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
And I saide, My strength and mine hope is perished from the Lord,
19 Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remembring mine affliction, and my mourning, the wormewood and the gall.
20 Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
My soule hath them in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
I consider this in mine heart: therefore haue I hope.
22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
It is the Lordes mercies that wee are not consumed, because his compassions faile not.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
They are renued euery morning: great is thy faithfulnesse.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
The Lord is my portion, sayth my soule: therefore wil I hope in him.
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
The Lord is good vnto them, that trust in him, and to the soule that seeketh him.
26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good both to trust, and to waite for the saluation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
It is good for a man that he beare the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
He sitteth alone, and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it vpon him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
He putteth his mouth in the dust, if there may be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
Hee giueth his cheeke to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproches.
31 For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
For the Lord will not forsake for euer.
32 Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
But though he sende affliction, yet will he haue compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
For he doeth not punish willingly, nor afflict the children of men,
34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
In stamping vnder his feete all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to deny a man justice before the Most High,
In ouerthrowing the right of a man before the face of the most high,
36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit— of these the Lord does not approve.
In subuerting a man in his cause: the Lord seeth it not.
37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Who is he then that sayth, and it commeth to passe, and the Lord commandeth it not?
38 Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Out of the mouth of the most high proceedeth not euill and good?
39 Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
Wherefore then is the liuing man sorowfull? man suffreth for his sinne.
40 Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
Let vs search and try our wayes, and turne againe to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
Let vs lift vp our hearts with our handes vnto God in the heauens.
42 “We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
We haue sinned, and haue rebelled, therefore thou hast not spared.
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
Thou hast couered vs with wrath, and persecuted vs: thou hast slaine and not spared.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
Thou hast couered thy selfe with a cloude, that our prayer should not passe through.
45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
Thou hast made vs as the ofscouring and refuse in the middes of the people.
46 All our enemies open their mouths against us.
All our enemies haue opened their mouth against vs.
47 Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
Feare, and a snare is come vpon vs with desolation and destruction.
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Mine eye casteth out riuers of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
Mine eye droppeth without stay and ceaseth not,
50 until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
Till the Lord looke downe, and beholde from heauen.
51 My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
Mine eye breaketh mine heart because of all the daughters of my citie.
52 Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Mine enemies chased me sore like a birde, without cause.
53 They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
They haue shut vp my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone vpon me.
54 The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
Waters flowed ouer mine head, then thought I, I am destroyed.
55 I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
I called vpon thy Name, O Lord, out of the lowe dungeon.
56 You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
Thou hast heard my voyce: stoppe not thine eare from my sigh and from my cry.
57 You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
Thou drewest neere in the day that I called vpon thee: thou saydest, Feare not.
58 You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
O Lord, thou hast maintained the cause of my soule, and hast redeemed my life.
59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
O Lord, thou hast seene my wrong, iudge thou my cause.
60 You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
Thou hast seene all their vengeance, and all their deuises against me.
61 O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
Thou hast heard their reproch, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me:
62 the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
The lippes also of those that rose against me, and their whispering against me continually.
63 When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
Behold, their sitting downe and their rising vp, how I am their song.
64 You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Giue them a recompence, O Lord, according to the worke of their handes.
65 Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
Giue them sorow of heart, euen thy curse to them.
66 You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
Persecute with wrath and destroy them from vnder the heauen, O Lord.
