Lamentations 3
1 I AM the man that has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
2 He has led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
3 Surely against me is he turned; he turns his hand against me all the day.
Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
4 My flesh and my skin has he made old; he has broken my bones.
He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
5 He has built against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6 He has set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
7 He has hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he has made my chain heavy.
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
8 Also when I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayer.
Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has enclosed my ways with hewn stone, he has made my paths crooked.
He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
10 He was to me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he has made me desolate.
He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
12 He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
13 He has caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.
I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness, he has made me drunken with wormwood.
He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he has covered me with ashes.
He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
17 And you have removed my soul far off from peace: I forgot prosperity.
My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
19 Remembering my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul has them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
23 They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
24 The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
25 The LORD is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke of his youth.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
28 He sits alone and keeps silence, because he has borne it on him.
Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
29 He puts his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
30 He gives his cheek to him that smites him: he is filled full with reproach.
Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
31 For the LORD will not cast off for ever:
For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
33 For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,
to deny a man justice before the Most High,
36 To subvert a man in his cause, the LORD approves not.
to subvert a man in his lawsuit— of these the Lord does not approve.
37 Who is he that says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord commands it not?
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceeds not evil and good?
Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
39 Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens.
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: you have not pardoned.
“We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
43 You have covered with anger, and persecuted us: you have slain, you have not pitied.
You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.
You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us as the offscouring and refuse in the middle of the people.
You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
All our enemies open their mouths against us.
47 Fear and a snare is come on us, desolation and destruction.
Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
48 My eye runs down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eye trickles down, and ceases not, without any intermission.
My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
50 Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.
until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
51 My eye affects my heart because of all the daughters of my city.
My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone on me.
They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
54 Waters flowed over my head; then I said, I am cut off.
The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
55 I called on your name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.
I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
56 You have heard my voice: hide not your ear at my breathing, at my cry.
You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
57 You drew near in the day that I called on you: you said, Fear not.
You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
58 O LORD, you have pleaded the causes of my soul; you have redeemed my life.
You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
59 O LORD, you have seen my wrong: judge you my cause.
You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
60 You have seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.
You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;
O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their music.
When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
64 Render to them a recompense, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
65 Give them sorrow of heart, your curse to them.
Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.
You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
