Lamentations 3
1 Aleph. I am a man seynge my pouert in the yerde of his indignacioun.
I am the man who has experienced suffering under the rod of God's anger.
2 Aleph. He droof me, and brouyte in to derknessis, and not in to liyt.
He has driven me away, forcing me to walk in darkness instead of the light.
3 Aleph. Oneli he turnede in to me, and turnede togidere his hond al dai.
In fact he hits me again and again all day long.
4 Beth. He made eld my skyn, and my fleisch; he al to-brak my boonys.
He has worn me out; he has broken me in pieces.
5 Beth. He bildid in my cumpas, and he cumpasside me with galle and trauel.
He has besieged me, surrounding me with bitterness and misery.
6 Beth. He settide me in derk places, as euerlastynge deed men.
He has forced me to live in darkness like those long dead.
7 Gymel. He bildide aboute ayens me, that Y go not out; he aggregide my gyues.
He has built a wall around me so I can't escape; he has bound me with heavy chains.
8 Gymel. But and whanne Y crie and preye, he hath excludid my preier.
Even when I keep on crying out for help, he refuses to listen to my prayer.
9 Gymel. He closide togidere my weies with square stoonus; he distriede my pathis.
He has put stone blocks in my way and sends me down crooked paths.
10 Deleth. He is maad a bere settinge aspies to me, a lioun in hid places.
He is a bear that lies in wait for me, a lion in hiding ready to attack,
11 Deleth. He distriede my pathis, and brak me; he settide me desolat.
He dragged me from my path and ripped me to pieces, leaving me helpless.
12 Deleth. He bente his bowe, and settide me as a signe to an arowe.
He loaded his bow with an arrow and used me as his target,
13 He. He sente in my reynes the douytris of his arowe caas.
He shot me in my kidneys with his arrows.
14 He. Y am maad in to scorn to al the puple, the song of hem al dai.
Now everyone laughs at me, singing songs that mock me all day long.
15 He. He fillide me with bitternesses; he gretli fillide me with wermod.
He has filled me with bitterness; he has filled me up with bitter wormwood.
16 Vau. He brak at noumbre my teeth; he fedde me with aische.
He has broken my teeth with grit; he has trampled me in the dust.
17 Vau. And my soule is putte awei; Y haue foryete goodis.
Peace has been torn away from me; I've forgotten all that's good in life.
18 Vau. And Y seide, Myn ende perischide, and myn hope fro the Lord.
That's why I say, “My expectation of a long life is gone, along with all that I hoped for from Lord.
19 Zai. Haue thou mynde on my pouert and goyng ouer, and on wermod and galle.
Don't forget everything I've suffered in my wandering, as bitters as wormwood and poison.
20 Zai. Bi mynde Y schal be myndeful; and my soule schal faile in me.
I certainly haven't forgotten. I remember it all too well, so I sink into depression.
21 Zai. Y bithenkynge these thingis in myn herte, schal hope in God.
But I still hope when I think about this:
22 Heth. The mercies of the Lord ben manye, for we ben not wastid; for whi hise merciful doyngis failiden not.
It's because of the Lord's trustworthy love that our lives are not finished, for through his merciful actions he never lets us down.
23 Heth. Y knew in the morewtid; thi feith is miche.
He renews them every morning. How wonderfully trustworthy you are, Lord!
24 Heth. My soule seide, The Lord is my part; therfor Y schal abide hym.
The Lord is all I need,” I tell myself, “so I will put my hope in him.”
25 Teth. The Lord is good to hem that hopen in to hym, to a soule sekynge hym.
The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to anyone who seeks to follow him.
26 Teth. It is good to abide with stilnesse the helthe of God.
It is good to wait quietly for the Lord's salvation.
27 Teth. It is good to a man, whanne he hath bore the yok fro his yongthe.
It is good for people to learn to patiently bear discipline while they're still young.
28 Joth. He schal sitte aloone, and he schal be stille; for he reiside hym silf aboue hym silf.
They should sit by themselves in silence, because it's God who has disciplined them.
29 Joth. He schal sette his mouth in dust, if perauenture hope is.
They should bow low with their faces to the ground, for there may still be hope.
30 Joth. He schal yyue the cheke to a man that smytith hym; he schal be fillid with schenschipis.
They should turn a cheek to someone who wants to slap them; they should take the insults of others.
31 Caph. For the Lord schal not putte awei with outen ende.
For the Lord won't abandon us forever.
32 Caph. For if he castide awei, and he schal do merci bi the multitude of hise mercies.
Even though he may bring sadness, he shows us mercy because his trustworthy love is so great.
33 Caph. For he makide not low of his herte; and castide not awei the sones of men. Lameth.
For he doesn't willingly hurt people, or cause them grief.
34 That he schulde al to-foule vndur hise feet alle the boundun men of erthe. Lameth.
Whether it's mistreating all the prisoners of the land,
35 That he schulde bowe doun the dom of man, in the siyt of the cheer of the hiyeste.
Or denying someone their rights as the Most High watches,
36 Lameth. That he schulde peruerte a man in his dom, the Lord knew not.
Or cheating someone in their legal case—these things the Lord doesn't approve of.
37 Men. Who is this that seide, that a thing schulde be don, whanne the Lord comaundide not?
Who spoke and it came into existence? Wasn't it the Lord who commanded it?
38 Men. Nether goodis nether yuels schulen go out of the mouth of the hiyeste.
When the Most High speaks it can be a disaster or a blessing.
39 Men. What grutchide a man lyuynge, a man for hise synnes?
Why should any human being complain about the results of their sins?
40 Nun. Serche we oure weies, and seke we, and turne we ayen to the Lord.
We should look at ourselves, examine what we're doing, and return to the Lord.
41 Nun. Reise we oure hertis with hondis, to the Lord in to heuenes.
Let's not just hold up our hands to God in heaven, but our minds as well, saying,
42 Nun. We han do wickidli, and han terrid thee to wraththe; therfor thou art not able to be preied.
“We are the ones who sinned; we are the ones who rebelled; and you haven't forgiven us!”
43 Sameth. Thou hilidist in stronge veniaunce, and smitidist vs; thou killidist, and sparidist not.
You have wrapped yourself in anger and chased us down, killing without mercy. You have killed without pity.
44 Sameth. Thou settidist a clowde to thee, that preier passe not.
You have wrapped yourself with a cloud that no prayer can penetrate.
45 Sameth. Thou settidist me, drawing vp bi the roote, and castynge out, in the myddis of puplis.
You have made us waste and refuse to the nations around.
46 Ayn. Alle enemyes openyden her mouth on vs.
All our enemies open their mouths to criticize us.
47 Ayn. Inward drede and snare is maad to vs, profesie and defoulyng.
We're terrified and trapped, devastated and destroyed.
48 Ayn. Myn iyen ledden doun departyngis of watris, for the defoulyng of the douyter of my puple.
Tears stream from my eyes over the death of my people.
49 Phe. Myn iye was turmentid, and was not stille; for no reste was.
My eyes overflow with tears all the time. They won't stop
50 Phe. Vntil the Lord bihelde, and siy fro heuenes.
Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees what's going on.
51 Phe. Myn iye robbide my soule in alle the douytris of my citee.
What I've seen torments me because of what's happened to all the women in my city.
52 Sade. Myn enemyes token me with out cause, bi huntyng as a brid.
For no reason my enemies trapped me like a bird.
53 Sade. My lijf slood in to a lake; and thei puttiden a stoon on me.
They tried to kill me by tossing me into a pit and throwing stones at me.
54 Sade. Watris flowiden ouer myn heed; Y seide, Y perischide.
Water flooded over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
55 Coph. Lord, Y clepide to help thi name, fro the laste lake.
I called out for you, Lord, from deep inside the pit.
56 Coph. Thou herdist my vois; turne thou not awei thin eere fro my sobbyng and cries.
You heard me when I prayed, “Please don't ignore my cry for help.”
57 Coph. Thou neiyidist to me in the dai, wherynne Y clepide thee to help; thou seidist, Drede thou not.
You came to me when I called you, and you told me, “Don't be afraid!”
58 Res. Lord, ayenbiere of my lijf, thou demydist the cause of my soule.
You have taken my case and defended me; you have saved my life!
59 Res. Lord, thou siest the wickidnesse of hem ayens me; deme thou my doom.
Lord, you have seen the injustices done to me; please vindicate me!
60 Res. Thou siest al the woodnesse, alle the thouytis of hem ayenus me.
You have observed how vengeful they are and how often they've plotted against me.
61 Syn. Lord, thou herdist the schenshipis of hem; alle the thouytis of hem ayens me.
Lord, you have heard how they've insulted me, and what they've plotted against me,
62 Syn. The lippis of men risynge ayens me, and the thouytis of hem ayens me al dai.
How my enemies talk against me and complain about me all the time!
63 Syn. Se thou the sittynge and risyng ayen of hem; Y am the salm of hem.
Just look! Whether they're sitting down and or standing up, they go on making fun of me in their songs.
64 Thau. Lord, thou schalt yelde while to hem, bi the werkis of her hondis.
Pay them back as they deserve, Lord, for all they've done!
65 Tau. Thou schalt yyue to hem the scheeld of herte, thi trauel.
Give them a covering for their minds! May your curse be on them!
66 Tau. Lord, thou schalt pursue hem in thi strong veniaunce, and thou schalt defoule hem vndur heuenes.
Chase them down in your anger, Lord, and get rid of them from the earth!
