Lamentations 3
1 ALEPH. I am the man that sees poverty, through the rod of his wrath upon me.
I [, the one who am writing this, ] am a man who has been afflicted/punished [MTY] by Yahweh because he was angry.
2 He has taken me, and led me away into darkness, and not [into] light.
[It was as though] he caused me to walk in a very dark place without any light [at all].
3 Nay, against me has he turned his hand all the day.
He has punished [IDM] me many times, all day, [every] day.
4 He has made old my flesh and my skin; he has broken my bones.
He has caused my skin and my flesh to become old. He has broken my bones.
5 BETH. He has built against me, and compassed my head, and brought travail [upon me].
He has surrounded me [DOU] with bitterness and suffering.
6 He has set me in dark places, as them that have long been dead.
[It is as though] he has buried me in a dark place like [SIM] [the graves of] those who have been dead for a long time.
7 He has builded against me, and I can’t come forth: he has made my brazen [chain] heavy.
[It is as though] [MET] he has built a wall around me, and fastened/tied me with heavy chains, and I cannot escape.
8 GIMEL. Yes, [though] I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayer.
Although I call out and cry out for him to help me, he does not pay attention to my prayers.
9 DALETH. He has built up my ways, he has hedged my paths;
[It is as though] he has blocked my path with a [high] stone [wall] and has caused my path to become crooked.
10 he has troubled me, [as] a she-bear lying in wait: he is to me [as] a lion in secret places.
He has waited to attack me like [SIM] a bear or a lion hides and waits [to attack other animals].
11 He pursued [me] after I departed, and brought me to a stand: he has utterly ruined me.
[It is as though] he has dragged me off the path and (mauled me/torn me into pieces), and left me without help.
12 HE. He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
[It is as though] [MET] he bent his bow and caused me to become the target [at which he shot] his arrows.
13 He has caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
[It is as though] he shot his arrows deep into my body.
14 I became a laughing stock to all my people; and their song all the day.
All my relatives laugh at me; all day, [every] day they sing songs that make fun of me.
15 VAU. He has filled me with bitterness, he has drenched me with gall.
He has filled me with (bitterness/great suffering), [like] [MET] someone who drinks a very bitter liquid suffers.
16 And he has dashed out my teeth with gravel, he has fed me with ashes.
[It is as though] he has caused me to chew gravel that broke my teeth, and he has trampled me in the dirt.
17 He has also removed my soul from peace: I forgot prosperity.
Things no longer go well for me; I no longer remember being prosperous.
18 Therefore my success has perished, and my hope from the Lord.
I [continued to] say [to myself], “I no longer expect to live much longer; I no longer confidently expect [to receive good things] from Yahweh!”
19 ZAIN. I remembered by reason of my poverty, and because of persecution my bitterness and gall shall be remembered;
When I think about my suffering and my wandering [away from home], [it is like drinking] a very bitter [DOU] liquid.
20 and my soul shall meditate with me.
I will never forget this time when I feel very depressed/discouraged [IDM].
21 This will I lay up in my heart, therefore I will endure.
However, I confidently expect [Yahweh to do good things for me again] when I think about this:
22 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.
Yahweh never stops faithfully loving [us], and he never stops being kind to us.
23 [They are] new every morning: great is your faithfulness.
[He is the one whom we can] always trust/lean on. Every morning he is merciful [to us again].
24 The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I wait for him.
[So] I say to myself, “Yahweh is all that I need; so I will confidently wait for him [to do good things for me].”
25 TETH. The Lord is good to them that wait for him: the soul which shall seek him
Yahweh is good to [all] those who depend on him, to those who seek his [help].
26 [is] good, and shall wait for, and quietly expect salvation of the Lord.
[So] it is good for us to wait quietly for Yahweh to save/rescue [us].
27 TETH. [It is] good for a man when he bears a yoke in his youth.
And it is good for us to [patiently] endure [suffering] while we are young.
28 He will sit alone, and be silent, because he has borne [it] upon him.
Those [who seek his help] should sit by themselves, silently, [knowing that] it is Yahweh who has allowed/caused them to suffer.
They should lie in the dirt, with their faces on the ground, [because] they can still hope [that Yahweh will help them].
30 JOD. He will give [his] cheek to him that smites him: he will be filled full with reproaches.
If someone strikes us on one cheek, we should turn the other cheek toward that person [in order that he may strike it, too], and accept/endure it when we are insulted.
31 For the Lord will not reject for ever.
Yahweh does not abandon [us his people] forever.
32 CHAPH. For he that has brought down will pity, and [that] according to the abundance of his mercy.
Sometimes he causes us to suffer, but sometimes he is kind [to us] because he continually and faithfully loves [us].
33 He has not answered [in anger] from his heart, though he has brought low the children of a man.
And he is not happy about causing human beings to suffer or to be sad.
34 LAMED. To bring down under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
If people (mistreat all the prisoners/crush all the prisoners under their feet)
35 to turn aside the judgement of a man before the face of the Most High,
or if they rebel against God by refusing to give to people the things that it is right for them [to receive],
36 to condemn a man [unjustly] in his judgement, the Lord has not given commandment.
or if they cause judges to decide matters unjustly, (does Yahweh not see all those things?/Yahweh certainly sees all those things!) [RHQ]
37 Who has thus spoken, and it has come to pass? the Lord has not commanded it.
No one can [RHQ] command something to happen [and then cause it to happen] if Yahweh has not already decided that it should happen.
38 Out of the mouth of the Most High there shall not come forth evil and good.
God in heaven [MTY] is [RHQ] the one who causes disasters to happen, and he [also] causes good things to happen.
39 MEM. Why should a living man complain, a man concerning his sin?
[So] it is certainly not [RHQ] right for us, who are only humans, to complain when he punishes us for the sins that we have committed.
40 NUN. Our way has been searched out and examined, and we will turn to the Lord.
Instead, we should (examine/think carefully about) our behavior; we should turn back to Yahweh.
41 Let us lift up our hearts with [our] hand to the lofty One in heaven.
We should pray [IDM] sincerely and lift up our arms toward God in heaven, [and say, ]
42 We have sinned, we have transgressed; and you have not pardoned.
“We have sinned and rebelled [against you], and you have not forgiven [us].
43 SAMECH. You has visited [us] in wrath, and driven us away: you has slain, you has not pitied.
You have surrounded us with your anger and pursued us; you have slaughtered [us] without pitying us.
44 You have veiled yourself with a cloud because of prayer, that I might be blind,
You have hidden yourself in a cloud, with the result that you do not hear [us] when we pray.
45 and be cast off. AIN. You have set us [alone] in the midst of the nations.
You have caused [the people of other] nations to consider us to be only garbage [DOU].
46 All our enemies have opened their mouth against us.
All our enemies have insulted us.
47 Fear and wrath are come upon us, suspense and destruction.
We are constantly afraid [DOU], [because] we have experienced disasters and ruin [DOU].”
48 Mine eye shall pour down torrents of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
I cry a lot because my people have been destroyed.
49 PHE. Mine eye is drowned [with tears], and I will not be silent, so that there shall be no rest,
My tears continually flow; they will not stop
50 until the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.
until Yahweh looks down from heaven and sees [us].
51 Mine eye shall prey upon my soul, because of all the daughters of the city.
I am very grieved because of [what has happened to] the women of my city.
52 TSADE. The fowlers chased me as a sparrow, all mine enemies destroyed my life in a pit without cause,
Those who are my enemies hunted for me like [SIM] [people hunt for] a bird [to kill it] [even though] there was no reason [for them to do that].
53 and laid a stone upon me.
They threw me into a pit to kill me, and they threw stones on top of me.
54 Water flowed over my head: I said, I am cut off.
The water [in the pit] rose above my head, and I said [to myself], “I am about to die/drown!”
55 KOPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, out of the lowest dungeon.
But from the bottom of the pit I cried out to you [MTY], “Yahweh, [help me]!”
56 You heard my voice: close not your ears to my supplication.
I pleaded with you, “Do not refuse to heed [MTY] me while I cry out to you!”
57 You drew near to my help: in the day wherein I called upon you you said to me, Fear not.
Then you answered me and said, “Do not be afraid!”
58 RECHS. O Lord, you has pleaded the causes of my soul; you has redeemed my life.
Yahweh, you defended me; you did not allow me to die.
59 You have seen, O Lord, my troubles: you have judged my cause.
[Now], Yahweh, you have seen the evil things that my enemies have done to me, [so] decide my case [and show that I am right]!
60 You have seen all their vengeance, [you have looked] on all their devices against me.
You know the evil things that they have planned to do to me.
61 CHSEN. You have heard their reproach [and] all their devices against me;
Yahweh, you have heard them insult [me] and what they have planned to do to me.
62 the lips of them that rose up against me, and their plots against me all the day;
Every day they whisper and mutter things about me, all day long.
63 their sitting down and their rising up: look you upon their eyes.
Look at them! Whether they are standing or sitting they make fun of me with the songs that they sing.
64 You will render them a recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.
Yahweh, cause them to suffer in return for their causing [me] to suffer!
65 THAU. You will give them [as] a covering, the grief of my heart.
Curse them [IDM] [for] their being very stubborn [IDM].
66 You will persecute them in anger, and will consume them from under the heaven, O Lord.
Because you are angry with them, pursue them and get rid of them, [until none of them remain] on the earth.
