Lamentations 3
1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
I [am] the man [who] hath seen affliction By the rod of His wrath.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
Me He hath led, and causeth to go [in] darkness, and without light.
3 Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
Surely against me He turneth back, He turneth 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. He hath broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He hath built up against me, And setteth round poverty and weariness.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
In dark places He hath caused me to dwell, As the dead of old.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
He hath hedged me about, and I go not out, He hath made heavy my fetter.
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
Also when I call and cry out, He hath shut out my prayer.
9 He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
He hath hedged my ways with hewn work, My paths He hath made crooked.
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 hiding-places.
11 He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
My ways He is turning aside, and He pulleth me in pieces, He hath made me a desolation.
12 He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
He hath trodden His bow, And setteth me up as a mark for an arrow.
13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
He hath caused to enter into 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 been 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 filled me with bitter things, He hath filled me [with] wormwood.
16 He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
And He breaketh with gravel my teeth, He hath covered me with ashes.
17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
And Thou castest off from peace my soul, I have forgotten prosperity.
18 So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
And I say, Perished hath my strength and my hope from Jehovah.
19 Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my affliction and my mourning, Wormwood and gall!
20 Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
Remember well, and bow down doth my soul in me.
21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
This I turn to my heart — therefore I hope.
22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
The kindnesses of Jehovah! For we have not been consumed, For not ended have His mercies.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
New every morning, abundant [is] thy faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
My portion [is] Jehovah, hath my soul said, Therefore I hope for Him.
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Good [is] Jehovah to those waiting for Him, To the soul [that] seeketh Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Good! when one doth stay and stand still For the salvation of Jehovah.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
Good for a man that he beareth a yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
He sitteth alone, and is silent, For He hath laid [it] upon him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
He putteth in the dust his mouth, if so be there is hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
He giveth to his smiter the cheek, He is filled with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
For the Lord doth not cast off to the age.
32 Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
For though He afflicted, yet He hath pitied, According to the abundance of His kindness.
33 For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
For He hath not afflicted with His heart, Nor doth He grieve the sons of men.
34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
To bruise under one's feet any bound ones of earth,
35 to deny a man justice before the Most High,
To turn aside the judgment of a man, Over-against the face of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit— of these the Lord does not approve.
To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord hath not approved.
37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Who [is] this — he hath said, and it is, [And] the Lord hath not commanded [it]?
38 Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
From the mouth of the Most High Go not forth the evils and the good.
39 Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
What — sigh habitually doth a living man, A man for his sin?
40 Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
We search our ways, and investigate, And turn back unto Jehovah.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
We lift up our heart on the hands unto God in the heavens.
42 “We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
We — we have transgressed and rebelled, Thou — Thou hast not forgiven.
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
Thou hast covered Thyself with anger, And dost pursue us; Thou hast slain — Thou hast not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
Thou hast covered Thyself with a cloud, So that prayer doth not pass through.
45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
Offscouring and refuse Thou dost make us In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies open their mouths against us.
Opened against us their mouth have all our enemies.
47 Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
Fear and a snare hath been for us, Desolation and destruction.
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Rivulets of water go down my eye, For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
Mine eye is poured out, And doth not cease without intermission,
50 until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
Till Jehovah looketh and seeth from the heavens,
51 My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
My eye affecteth my soul, Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Hunted me sore as a bird have my enemies without cause.
53 They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
They have cut off in a pit my life, And they cast a stone against me.
54 The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
Flowed have waters over my head, I have said, I have been cut off.
55 I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
I called Thy name, O Jehovah, from the lower pit.
56 You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
My voice Thou hast heard, Hide not Thine ear at my breathing — at my cry.
57 You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
Thou hast drawn near in the day I call Thee, Thou hast said, Fear not.
58 You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
Thou hast pleaded, O Lord, the pleadings of my soul, Thou hast redeemed my life.
59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
Thou hast seen, O Jehovah, my overthrow, Judge Thou my cause.
60 You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
Thou hast seen all their vengeance, All their thoughts of me.
61 O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, All their thoughts against me,
62 the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
The lips of my withstanders, Even their meditation against me all the day.
63 When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
Their sitting down, and their rising up, Behold attentively, I [am] their song.
64 You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Thou returnest to them the deed, O Jehovah, According to the work of their hands.
65 Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
Thou givest to them a covered heart, Thy curse to them.
66 You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
Thou pursuest in anger, and destroyest them, From under the heavens of Jehovah!
