Lamentations 3

Jeremiah Shares Israel's Affliction

1 I am the man who has seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath.

2 He has driven me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.

3 Surely against me He has turned His hand
Repeatedly all the day.

4 He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away,
He has broken my bones.

5 He has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship.

6 In dark places He has made me dwell,
Like those who have long been dead.

7 He has walled me in so that I cannot go out;
He has made my chain heavy.

8 Even when I cry out and call for help,
He shuts out my prayer.

9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.

10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in secret places.

11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces;
He has made me desolate.

12 He bent His bow
And set me as a target for the arrow.

13 He made the arrows of His quiver
To enter into my inward parts.

14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people,
Their mocking song all the day.

15 He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drunk with wormwood.

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
He has made me cower in the dust.

17 My soul has been rejected from peace;
I have forgotten happiness.

18 So I say, "My strength has perished,
And so has my hope from the LORD."

Hope of Relief in God's Mercy

19 Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.

20 Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.

21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.

22 The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.

23  They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."

25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

26  It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.

27  It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth.

28 Let him sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him.

29 Let him put his mouth in the dust,
Perhaps there is hope.

30 Let him give his cheek to the smiter,
Let him be filled with reproach.

31 For the Lord will not reject forever,

32 For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness.

33 For He does not afflict willingly
Or grieve the sons of men.

34 To crush under His feet
All the prisoners of the land,

35 To deprive a man of justice
In the presence of the Most High,

36 To defraud a man in his lawsuit-
Of these things the Lord does not approve.

37 Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?

38  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That both good and ill go forth?

39 Why should any living mortal, or any man,
Offer complaint in view of his sins?

40 Let us examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the LORD.

41 We lift up our heart and hands
Toward God in heaven;

42 We have transgressed and rebelled,
You have not pardoned.

43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and have not spared.

44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud
So that no prayer can pass through.

45  You have made us mere offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

47 Panic and pitfall have befallen us,
Devastation and destruction;

48 My eyes run down with streams of water
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 My eyes pour down unceasingly,
Without stopping,

50 Until the LORD looks down
And sees from heaven.

51 My eyes bring pain to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.

52 My enemies without cause
Hunted me down like a bird;

53 They have silenced me in the pit
And have placed a stone on me.

54 Waters flowed over my head;
I said, "I am cut off!"

55 I called on Your name, O LORD,
Out of the lowest pit.

56 You have heard my voice,
"Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,
From my cry for help."

57 You drew near when I called on You;
You said, "Do not fear!"

58 O Lord, You have pleaded my soul's cause;
You have redeemed my life.

59 O LORD, You have seen my oppression;
Judge my case.

60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their schemes against me.

61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD,
All their schemes against me.

62 The lips of my assailants and their whispering
Are against me all day long.

63 Look on their sitting and their rising;
I am their mocking song.

64 You will recompense them, O LORD,
According to the work of their hands.

65 You will give them hardness of heart,
Your curse will be on them.

66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
From under the heavens of the LORD!

Lamentations 3

1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.

3 Surely against me he turneth his hand again and again all the day.

4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

6 He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

7 He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.

8 Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer.

9 He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked.

10 He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.

11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate.

12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins.

14 I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day.

15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath sated me with wormwood.

16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes.

17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity.

18 And I said, My strength is perished, and mine expectation from Jehovah.

19 Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is bowed down within me.

21 This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope.

22  It is of Jehovah’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.

24 Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.

27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

28 Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he hath laid it upon him.

29 Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.

30 Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him; let him be filled full with reproach.

31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever.

32 For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

33 For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.

34 To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,

35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High,

36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.

37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?

38 Out of the mouth of the Most High cometh there not evil and good?

39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.

41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 We have transgressed and have rebelled; thou hast not pardoned.

43 Thou hast covered with anger and pursued us; thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.

45 Thou hast made us an off-scouring and refuse in the midst of the peoples.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.

47 Fear and the pit are come upon us, devastation and destruction.

48 Mine eye runneth down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 Mine eye poureth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,

50 Till Jehovah look down, and behold from heaven.

51 Mine eye affecteth my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.

52 They have chased me sore like a bird, they that are mine enemies without cause.

53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone upon me.

54 Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.

55 I called upon thy name, O Jehovah, out of the lowest dungeon.

56 Thou heardest my voice; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee; thou saidst, Fear not.

58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O Jehovah, thou hast seen my wrong; judge thou my cause.

60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their devices against me.

61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, and all their devices against me,

62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.

63 Behold thou their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their song.

64 Thou wilt render unto them a recompense, O Jehovah, according to the work of their hands.

65 Thou wilt give them hardness of heart, thy curse unto them.

66 Thou wilt pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Jehovah.