Lamentationes 3
1 [Aleph Ego vir videns paupertatem meam in virga indignationis ejus.
ALEPH. I am a man watching my own poverty by the rod of his indignation.
2 Aleph Me minavit, et adduxit in tenebras, et non in lucem.
ALEPH. He has driven me and led me into darkness, and not into light.
3 Aleph Tantum in me vertit et convertit manum suam tota die.
ALEPH. Against me only, he has turned and turned again his hand, all day long.
4 Beth Vetustam fecit pellem meam et carnem meam; contrivit ossa mea.
BETH. My skin and my flesh, he has made old; he has crushed my bones.
5 Beth Ædificavit in gyro meo, et circumdedit me felle et labore.
BETH. He has built all around me, and he has encircled me with gall and hardship.
6 Beth In tenebrosis collocavit me, quasi mortuos sempiternos.
BETH. He has gathered me into darkness, like those who are forever dead.
7 Ghimel Circumædificavit adversum me, ut non egrediar; aggravavit compedem meum.
GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.
8 Ghimel Sed et cum clamavero, et rogavero, exclusit orationem meam.
GHIMEL. Yet even when I cry out and beg, he excludes my prayer.
9 Ghimel Conclusit vias meas lapidibus quadris; semitas meas subvertit.
GHIMEL. He has enclosed my ways with square stones; he has subverted my paths.
10 Daleth Ursus insidians factus est mihi, leo in absconditis.
DALETH. He has become to me like a bear lying in ambush, like a lion in hiding.
11 Daleth Semitas meas subvertit, et confregit me; posuit me desolatam.
DALETH. He has subverted my paths, and he has broken me. He has placed me in desolation.
12 Daleth Tetendit arcum suum, et posuit me quasi signum ad sagittam.
DALETH. He has bent his bow, and he has positioned me like a target for his arrows.
13 He Misit in renibus meis filias pharetræ suæ.
HE. He has shot into my kidneys the daughters of his quiver.
14 He Factus sum in derisum omni populo meo, canticum eorum tota die.
HE. I have become a derision to all my people, their song throughout the day.
15 He Replevit me amaritudinibus; inebriavit me absinthio.
HE. He has filled me with bitterness; he has inebriated me with wormwood.
16 Vau Et fregit ad numerum dentes meos; cibavit me cinere.
VAU. And he has broken each one of my teeth; he has fed me with ashes.
17 Vau Et repulsa est a pace anima mea; oblitus sum bonorum.
VAU. And my soul has been driven away from peace; I have forgotten what is good.
18 Vau Et dixi: Periit finis meus, et spes mea a Domino.
VAU. And I said, “My end and my hope from the Lord has perished.”
19 Zain Recordare paupertatis, et transgressionis meæ, absinthii et fellis.
ZAIN. Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall.
20 Zain Memoria memor ero, et tabescet in me anima mea.
ZAIN. I will call to mind the past, and my soul shall languish within me.
21 Zain Hæc recolens in corde meo, ideo sperabo.
ZAIN. These recollections are in my heart; therefore, I shall hope.
22 Heth Misericordiæ Domini, quia non sumus consumpti; quia non defecerunt miserationes ejus.
HETH. By the mercies of the Lord, we are not consumed. For his compassion has not passed away.
23 Heth Novi diluculo, multa est fides tua.
HETH. I know it at first light; great is your faithfulness.
24 Heth Pars mea Dominus, dixit anima mea; propterea exspectabo eum.
HETH. “The Lord is my portion,” said my soul. Because of this, I will wait for him.
25 Teth Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in eum, animæ quærenti illum.
TETH. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.
26 Teth Bonum est præstolari cum silentio salutare Dei.
TETH. It is good to stand ready in silence for the salvation of God.
27 Teth Bonum est viro cum portaverit jugum ab adolescentia sua.
TETH. It is good for a man, when he has carried the yoke from his youth.
28 Jod Sedebit solitarius, et tacebit, quia levavit super se.
JOD. He shall sit solitary and silent. For he has lifted it upon himself.
29 Jod Ponet in pulvere os suum, si forte sit spes.
JOD. He shall place his mouth in the dirt, if perhaps there may be hope.
30 Jod Dabit percutienti se maxillam: saturabitur opprobriis.
JOD. He shall give his cheek to those who strike him; he shall be saturated with reproaches.
31 Caph Quia non repellet in sempiternum Dominus.
CAPH. For the Lord will not rebuke forever.
32 Caph Quia si abjecit, et miserebitur, secundum multitudinem misericordiarum suarum.
CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.
33 Caph Non enim humiliavit ex corde suo et abjecit filios hominum.
CAPH. For he has not humiliated from his heart, nor has he thrown aside the sons of men,
34 Lamed Ut conteret sub pedibus suis omnes vinctos terræ.
LAMED. as if to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,
35 Lamed Ut declinaret judicium viri in conspectu vultus Altissimi.
LAMED. as if to turn aside the judgment of a man in the sight of the presence of the Most High,
36 Lamed Ut perverteret hominem in judicio suo; Dominus ignoravit.
LAMED. as if to pervert a man in his judgment: the Lord does not do this.
37 Mem Quis est iste qui dixit ut fieret, Domino non jubente?
MEM. Who is this, who said to do what the Lord did not command?
38 Mem Ex ore Altissimi non egredientur nec mala nec bona?
MEM. Does not both misfortune and good proceed from the mouth of the Most High?
39 Mem Quid murmuravit homo vivens, vir pro peccatis suis?
MEM. Why has a living man murmured, a man suffering for his sins?
40 Nun Scrutemur vias nostras, et quæramus, et revertamur ad Dominum.
NUN. Let us examine our ways, and seek out, and return to the Lord.
41 Nun Levemus corda nostra cum manibus ad Dominum in cælos.
NUN. Let us lift up our hearts, with our hands, toward the Lord in the heavens.
42 Nun Nos inique egimus, et ad iracundiam provocavimus; idcirco tu inexorabilis es.
NUN. We have acted sinfully, and we have provoked to wrath. About this, you are relentless.
43 Samech Operuisti in furore, et percussisti nos; occidisti, nec pepercisti.
SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.
44 Samech Opposuisti nubem tibi, ne transeat oratio.
SAMECH. You have set a cloud opposite you, lest our prayer pass through.
45 Samech Eradicationem et abjectionem posuisti me in medio populorum.
SAMECH. In the midst of the peoples, you have uprooted me and cast me out.
46 Phe Aperuerunt super nos os suum omnes inimici.
PHE. All our enemies have opened their mouths over us.
47 Phe Formido et laqueus facta est nobis vaticinatio, et contritio.
PHE. Prediction has become for us a dread, and a snare, and a grief.
48 Phe Divisiones aquarum deduxit oculus meus, in contritione filiæ populi mei.
PHE. My eye has brought forth streams of water at the contrition of the daughter of my people.
49 Ain Oculus meus afflictus est, nec tacuit, eo quod non esset requies.
AIN. My eye has been afflicted, and it has not been quieted, because there would be no rest
50 Ain Donec respiceret et videret Dominus de cælis.
AIN. until the Lord looked down and saw from the heavens.
51 Ain Oculus meus deprædatus est animam meam in cunctis filiabus urbis meæ.
AIN. My eye has exhausted my soul over every one of the daughters of my city.
52 Sade Venatione ceperunt me quasi avem inimici mei gratis.
SADE. My enemies have chased me, and they have caught me like a bird, without reason.
53 Sade Lapsa est in lacum vita mea, et posuerunt lapidem super me.
SADE. My life has fallen into a pit, and they have placed a stone over me.
54 Sade Inundaverunt aquæ super caput meum; dixi: Perii.
SADE. The waters have flooded over my head. I said, “I am lost.”
55 Coph Invocavi nomen tuum, Domine, de lacu novissimo.
COPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, from the furthest pit.
56 Coph Vocem meam audisti; ne avertas aurem tuam a singultu meo et clamoribus.
COPH. You have heard my voice. Do not turn away your ear from my sobbing and my cries.
57 Coph Appropinquasti in die quando invocavi te; dixisti: Ne timeas.
COPH. You drew near in the daytime, when I called upon you. You said, “Fear not.”
58 Res Judicasti, Domine, causam animæ meæ, redemptor vitæ meæ.
RES. You have judged, O Lord, the case of my soul. You are the Redeemer of my life.
59 Res Vidisti, Domine, iniquitatem illorum adversum me: judica judicium meum.
RES. You have seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me. Judge my case.
60 Res Vidisti omnem furorem, universas cogitationes eorum adversum me.
RES. You have seen all their fury, every one of their thoughts is against me.
61 Sin Audisti opprobrium eorum, Domine, omnes cogitationes eorum adversum me.
SIN. You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their thoughts are against me.
62 Sin Labia insurgentium mihi, et meditationes eorum adversum me tota die.
SIN. The lips of those who rise up against me, and their meditations, are against me all day long.
63 Sin Sessionem eorum et resurrectionem eorum vide; ego sum psalmus eorum.
SIN. Watch their sitting down and their rising up: I am their psalm.
64 Thau Redes eis vicem, Domine, juxta opera manuum suarum.
THAU. You shall pay a recompense to them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.
65 Thau Dabis eis scutum cordis, laborem tuum.
THAU. You shall give them a heavy shield of the heart: your hardship.
66 Thau Persequeris in furore, et conteres eos sub cælis, Domine.]
THAU. You shall pursue them in fury, and you shall destroy them under the heavens, O Lord.
