Lamentations 3
1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
I am a man who has seen misery under the rod of Yahweh's fury.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
He drove me away and caused me to walk in darkness rather than light.
3 Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
Surely he turned his hand against me again and again, the whole day long.
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
He made my flesh and my skin waste away; he broke my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He built up siege works against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
He made me live in dark places, like those who died long ago.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
He built a wall around me and I cannot escape. He made my chains heavy
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
and though I call out and cry for help, he shut out my prayer.
9 He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
He blocked my path with a wall of hewn stone; he made my paths crooked.
10 He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
He is like a bear waiting to ambush me, a lion in hiding;
11 He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
he turned aside my paths, he has made me desolate.
12 He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
He bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow.
13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
He pierced my kidneys with the arrows of his quiver.
14 I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
I became a laughingstock to all my people, the object of their taunting all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
He filled me with bitterness and forced me to drink wormwood.
16 He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
He has made my teeth grind with gravel, and he made me cower in the ashes.
17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
My soul is deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
So I say, “My endurance has perished and so has my hope in Yahweh.”
19 Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
I continually remember it and I am bowed down within me.
21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
But I call this to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
The steadfast love of Yahweh never ceases and his compassions never end,
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
they are new every morning; your faithfulness is great.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
“Yahweh is my inheritance,” I said, therefore I will hope in him.
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the one who seeks him.
26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good to wait silently for the salvation of Yahweh.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
Let him sit alone in silence, when it is laid upon him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
Let him put his mouth in the dust—there may yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
Let him offer his cheek to the one who strikes him, and let him be filled to the full with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
For the Lord will not reject us forever,
32 Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
but though he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
33 For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
For he does not afflict from his heart or torment the children of mankind.
34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to deny a man justice before the Most High,
to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit— of these the Lord does not approve.
to deny justice to a person—the Lord would not approve such things!
37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord decreed it?
38 Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and the good come?
39 Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
How can any person alive complain? How can a person complain about the punishment for his sins?
40 Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to Yahweh.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in the heavens:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
“We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us, you have killed and you have not spared.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
You have made us like filthy scum and refuse among the nations.
46 All our enemies open their mouths against us.
All our enemies curse us,
47 Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
panic and pitfall have come upon us, ruin and destruction.
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
My eyes flow with streams of tears because my people are destroyed.
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
My eyes will shed tears without ceasing, without relief,
50 until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
until Yahweh from heaven looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
My eyes cause me grief because of all the daughters of my city.
52 Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies; they hunted me without a reason.
53 They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
They cast me into a pit and they threw a stone on me,
54 The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
and they caused waters to overflow, covering my head. I said, 'I have been cut off!'
55 I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
I called on your name, Yahweh, from the depths of the pit.
56 You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
You heard my voice when I said, 'Do not close your ear to my cry for help.'
57 You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
You came near on the day I called on you; you said, 'Do not fear.'
58 You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
Lord, you defended my case, you saved my life!
59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
Yahweh, you have seen the wrong they have done to me; judge my case.
60 You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
You have seen their insults, all their plots against me—
61 O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
You have heard their scorn, Yahweh, and all their plans regarding me.
62 the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
The lips and the accusations of my enemies come against me all the day.
63 When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
Look at how they sit and then rise up; they mock me with their songs.
64 You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Pay back to them, Yahweh, according to what they have done.
65 Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
You will let their hearts be shameless! May your condemnation be upon them!
66 You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
You pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens, Yahweh!”
