Lamentations 3
1 I am the man who has seen trouble by the rod of his wrath.
ALEPH. I am the man that sees poverty, through the rod of his wrath upon me.
2 By him I have been made to go in the dark where there is no light.
He has taken me, and led me away into darkness, and not [into] light.
3 Truly against me his hand has been turned again and again all the day.
Nay, against me has he turned his hand all the day.
4 My flesh and my skin have been used up by him and my bones broken.
He has made old my flesh and my skin; he has broken my bones.
5 He has put up a wall against me, shutting me in with bitter sorrow.
BETH. He has built against me, and compassed my head, and brought travail [upon me].
6 He has kept me in dark places, like those who have been long dead.
He has set me in dark places, as them that have long been dead.
7 He has put a wall round me, so that I am not able to go out; he has made great the weight of my chain.
He has builded against me, and I can’t come forth: he has made my brazen [chain] heavy.
8 Even when I send up a cry for help, he keeps my prayer shut out.
GIMEL. Yes, [though] I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayer.
9 He has put up a wall of cut stones about my ways, he has made my roads twisted.
DALETH. He has built up my ways, he has hedged my paths;
10 He is like a bear waiting for me, like a lion in secret places.
he has troubled me, [as] a she-bear lying in wait: he is to me [as] a lion in secret places.
11 By him my ways have been turned on one side and I have been pulled in bits; he has made me waste.
He pursued [me] after I departed, and brought me to a stand: he has utterly ruined me.
12 With his bow bent, he has made me the mark for his arrows.
HE. He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
13 He has let loose his arrows into the inmost parts of my body.
He has caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
14 I have become the sport of all the peoples; I am their song all the day.
I became a laughing stock to all my people; and their song all the day.
15 He has made my life nothing but pain, he has given me the bitter root in full measure.
VAU. He has filled me with bitterness, he has drenched me with gall.
16 By him my teeth have been broken with crushed stones, and I am bent low in the dust.
And he has dashed out my teeth with gravel, he has fed me with ashes.
17 My soul is sent far away from peace, I have no more memory of good.
He has also removed my soul from peace: I forgot prosperity.
18 And I said, My strength is cut off, and my hope from the Lord.
Therefore my success has perished, and my hope from the Lord.
19 Keep in mind my trouble and my wandering, the bitter root and the poison.
ZAIN. I remembered by reason of my poverty, and because of persecution my bitterness and gall shall be remembered;
20 My soul still keeps the memory of them; and is bent down in me.
and my soul shall meditate with me.
21 This I keep in mind, and because of this I have hope.
This will I lay up in my heart, therefore I will endure.
22 It is through the Lord's love that we have not come to destruction, because his mercies have no limit.
HETH. [It is] the mercies of the Lord, that he has not failed me, because his compassions are not exhausted. Pity [us], O Lord, early [every] month: for we are not brought to an end, because his compassions are not exhausted.
23 They are new every morning; great is your good faith.
[They are] new every morning: great is your faithfulness.
24 I said to myself, The Lord is my heritage; and because of this I will have hope in him.
The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I wait for him.
25 The Lord is good to those who are waiting for him, to the soul which is looking for him.
TETH. The Lord is good to them that wait for him: the soul which shall seek him
26 It is good to go on hoping and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord.
[is] good, and shall wait for, and quietly expect salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man to undergo the yoke when he is young.
TETH. [It is] good for a man when he bears a yoke in his youth.
28 Let him be seated by himself, saying nothing, because he has put it on him.
He will sit alone, and be silent, because he has borne [it] upon him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust, if by chance there may be hope.
30 Let his face be turned to him who gives him blows; let him be full of shame.
JOD. He will give [his] cheek to him that smites him: he will be filled full with reproaches.
31 For the Lord does not give a man up for ever.
For the Lord will not reject for ever.
32 For though he sends grief, still he will have pity in the full measure of his love.
CHAPH. For he that has brought down will pity, and [that] according to the abundance of his mercy.
33 For he has no pleasure in troubling and causing grief to the children of men.
He has not answered [in anger] from his heart, though he has brought low the children of a man.
34 In a man's crushing under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
LAMED. To bring down under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
35 In his turning away the right of a man before the face of the Most High.
to turn aside the judgment of a man before the face of the Most High,
36 In his doing wrong to a man in his cause, the Lord has no pleasure.
to condemn a man [unjustly] in his judgment, the Lord has not given commandment.
37 Who is able to say a thing, and give effect to it, if it has not been ordered by the Lord?
Who has thus spoken, and it has come to pass? the Lord has not commanded it.
38 Do not evil and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Out of the mouth of the Most High there shall not come forth evil and good.
39 What protest may a living man make, even a man about the punishment of his sin?
MEM. Why should a living man complain, a man concerning his sin?
40 Let us make search and put our ways to the test, turning again to the Lord;
NUN. Our way has been searched out and examined, and we will turn to the Lord.
41 Lifting up our hearts with our hands to God in the heavens.
Let us lift up our hearts with [our] hand to the lofty One in heaven.
42 We have done wrong and gone against your law; we have not had your forgiveness.
We have sinned, we have transgressed; and you have not pardoned.
43 Covering yourself with wrath you have gone after us, cutting us off without pity;
SAMECH. You has visited [us] in wrath, and driven us away: you has slain, you has not pitied.
44 Covering yourself with a cloud, so that prayer may not get through.
You have veiled yourself with a cloud because of prayer, that I might be blind,
45 You have made us like waste and that for which there is no use, among the peoples.
and be cast off. AIN. You have set us [alone] in the midst of the nations.
46 The mouths of all our haters are open wide against us.
All our enemies have opened their mouth against us.
47 Fear and deep waters have come on us, wasting and destruction.
Fear and wrath are come upon us, suspense and destruction.
48 Rivers of water are running down from my eyes, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Mine eye shall pour down torrents of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes are streaming without stopping, they have no rest,
PHE. Mine eye is drowned [with tears], and I will not be silent, so that there shall be no rest,
50 Till the Lord's eye is turned on me, till he sees my trouble from heaven.
until the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.
51 The Lord is unkind to my soul, more than all the daughters of my town.
Mine eye shall prey upon my soul, because of all the daughters of the city.
52 They who are against me without cause have gone hard after me as if I was a bird;
TSADE. The fowlers chased me as a sparrow, all mine enemies destroyed my life in a pit without cause,
53 They have put an end to my life in the prison, stoning me with stones.
and laid a stone upon me.
54 Waters were flowing over my head; I said, I am cut off.
Water flowed over my head: I said, I am cut off.
55 I was making prayer to your name, O Lord, out of the lowest prison.
KOPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, out of the lowest dungeon.
56 My voice came to you; let not your ear be shut to my breathing, to my cry.
You heard my voice: close not your ears to my supplication.
57 You came near in the day when I made my prayer to you: you said, Have no fear.
You drew near to my help: in the day wherein I called upon you you said to me, Fear not.
58 O Lord, you have taken up the cause of my soul, you have made my life safe.
RECHS. O Lord, you has pleaded the causes of my soul; you has redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, you have seen my wrong; be judge in my cause.
You have seen, O Lord, my troubles: you have judged my cause.
60 You have seen all the evil rewards they have sent on me, and all their designs against me.
You have seen all their vengeance, [you have looked] on all their devices against me.
61 Their bitter words have come to your ears, O Lord, and all their designs against me;
CHSEN. You have heard their reproach [and] all their devices against me;
62 The lips of those who came up against me, and their thoughts against me all the day.
the lips of them that rose up against me, and their plots against me all the day;
63 Take note of them when they are seated, and when they get up; I am their song.
their sitting down and their rising up: look you upon their eyes.
64 You will give them their reward, O Lord, answering to the work of their hands.
You will render them a recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.
65 You will let their hearts be covered over with your curse on them.
THAU. You will give them [as] a covering, the grief of my heart.
66 You will go after them in wrath, and put an end to them from under the heavens of the Lord.
You will persecute them in anger, and will consume them from under the heaven, O Lord.
