Lamentations 3
1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
I, am the man, that hath seen affliction, by the rod of his indignation;
2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
Me, hath he driven out and brought into darkness, and not light;
3 Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
Surely, against me, doth he again and again, turn his hand all the day.
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
He hath worn out my flesh and my skin, hath broken my bones;
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He hath built up against me, and carried round me, fortifications and a trench;
6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
In dark places, hath he made me sit, like the dead of age-past times.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
He hath walled up around me, that I cannot get out, hath weighted my fetter;
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
Yea, when I make outcry and implore, he hath shut out my prayer;
9 He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
He hath walled in my ways with hewn stone, my paths, hath he caused to wind back.
10 He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
A bear lying in wait, he is to me, a lion, in secret places;
11 He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
My ways, hath he turned aside, and hath torn me in pieces, hath made me desolate;
12 He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
He hath trodden his bow, and set me up, as a mark for the arrow.
13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
He hath caused to enter my reins, the sons of his quiver;
14 I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
I have become a derision to all my people, their song all the day;
15 He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
He hath sated me with bitter things, hath drenched me with wormwood.
16 He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
And he hath crushed, with gravel-stones, my teeth, hath made me cower in ashes;
17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
And thou hast thrust away from welfare, my soul, I have forgotten prosperity;
18 So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
And I said, Vanished is mine endurance, even mine expectation, from Yahweh.
19 Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my humiliation and my fleeings, the wormwood and poison;
20 Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
Thou wilt, indeed remember, that, bowed down concerning myself, is my soul;
21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
This, will I bring back to my heart, therefore, will I hope.
22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, verily they are not exhausted, Verily! not at an end, are his compassions:
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
New things for the mornings! Abundant is thy faithfulness:
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
My portion, is Yahweh, saith my soul, For this cause, will I wait for him.
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Good is Yahweh, to them who wait for him, to the soul that will seek him;
26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Good it is—both to wait and to be silent, for the deliverance of Yahweh;
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
Good it is for a man, that he should bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
Let him sit alone, and keep silence, because he took it upon himself:
29 Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
Let him put, in the dust, his mouth, peradventure, there is hope!
30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
Let him give, to him that smiteth him, his cheek, let him be sated with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
Surely My Lord, will not cast off, unto times age-abiding;
32 Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
Surely, though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses;
33 For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
Surely he hath not afflicted from his heart, nor caused sorrow to the sons of men.
34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
To crush, under his feet, any of the prisoners of the earth;
35 to deny a man justice before the Most High,
To turn aside 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.
To oppress a son of earth in his cause, My Lord, hath made no provision.
37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Who was it that spake, and it was done, [when], My Lord, had not commanded?
38 Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Out of the mouth of the Most High, Proceed there not misfortunes and blessing?
39 Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
Why should a living son of earth complain, [Let] a man [complain] because of his sins?
40 Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
Let us search out our ways, and examine them well, and let us return unto Yahweh;
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
Let us lift up our heart, to the opened palms, to the Mighty One in the heavens;
42 “We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
We, have trespassed and rebelled, Thou, hast not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
Thou hast covered thyself with anger, and pursued us, hast slain—hast not spared;
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
Thou hast screened thyself with the clouds, that prayer, should not pass through;
45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
Offscouring and refuse, dost thou make us, in the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies open their mouths against us.
With their mouth, opened wide over us, [stand] all our foes.
47 Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
Terror and a pit, have befallen us, tumult and grievous injury;
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
With streams of water, mine eye runneth down, over the grievous injury of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
Mine eye, poureth itself out and ceaseth not, without relief;
50 until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
Until Yahweh out of the heavens shall look forth, and see,
51 My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
Mine eye dealeth severely with my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.
52 Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
They, have laid snares, for me as a bird, who are mine enemies without cause:
53 They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
They have cut off, in the dungeon, my life, and have cast a stone upon me;
54 The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
Waters, flowed over, my head, I said, I am cut off!
55 I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
I have called upon thy Name, O Yahweh, out of the dungeon below;
56 You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
My voice, thou hast heard, —do not close thine ear to my respite, to mine outcry;
57 You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
Thou drewest near, in the day I kept calling on thee, thou saidst, Do not fear!
58 You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
Thou hast pleaded, O My Lord, the pleas of my soul, hast redeemed my life;
59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
Thou hast beheld, O Yahweh, my failure to get justice, Pronounce thou my sentence;
60 You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
Thou hast seen all their vindictiveness, all their plots against me.
61 O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
Thou hast heard their reproach, O Yahweh, all their plots against me;
62 the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
The lips of mine assailants, and their mutterings, are against me, all the day;
63 When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
On their downsitting and their uprising, do thou look, I, am their song.
64 You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Thou wilt render to them a recompense, O Yahweh, according to the work of their hands;
65 Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
Thou wilt suffer them a veiling of heart, thy curse to them;
66 You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
Thou wilt pursue in anger, and wilt destroy them, from under the heavens of Yahweh.
