Lamentations 3

The Prophets Anguish and Hope

1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.2 He has led me and made me walk In darkness and not in light.3 Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day.4 He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones.5 He has besieged me And surrounded me with bitterness and woe.6 He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago.7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy.8 Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer.9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.10 He has been to me a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in ambush.11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate.12 He has bent His bow And set me up as a target for the arrow.13 He has caused the arrows of His quiver To pierce my loins.14 I have become the ridicule of all my people Their taunting song all the day.15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood.16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes.17 You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity.18 And I said, My strength and my hope Have perished from the Lord.19 Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall.20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me.21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.22  Through the Lords mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.23  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.24 The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him!25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.26  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.27  It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth.28 Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him;29 Let him put his mouth in the dust There may yet be hope.30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach.31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies.33 For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men.34 To crush under ones feet All the prisoners of the earth,35 To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High,36 Or subvert a man in his cause The Lord does not approve.37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? 38  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed?39 Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?40 Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord;41 Let us lift our hearts and hands To 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 not pitied.44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud, That prayer should not pass through.45 You have made us an offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples.46 All our enemies Have opened their mouths against us.47 Fear and a snare have come upon us, Desolation and destruction.48 My eyes overflow with rivers of water For the destruction of the daughter of my people.49 My eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption,50 Till the Lord from heaven Looks down and sees.51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.52 My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird.53 They silenced my life in the pit And threw stones at me.54 The waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off!55 I called on Your name, O Lord, From the lowest pit.56 You have heard my voice: Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.57 You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, Do not fear!58 O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life.59 O Lord, You have seen how I am wronged; 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 enemies And their whispering against me all the day.63 Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I am their taunting song.64 Repay them, O Lord, According to the work of their hands.65 Give them a veiled heart; Your curse be upon them!66 In Your anger, Pursue and destroy them From under the heavens of the Lord.

LAMENTATIONS 3

There Is Still Hope

The Prophet Speaks:

1 I have suffered much
because God was angry.

2 He chased me into a dark place,
where no light could enter.

3 I am the only one he punishes
over and over again,
without ever stopping.

4 God caused my skin and flesh
to waste away,
and he crushed my bones.

5 He attacked and surrounded me
with hardships and trouble;

6 he forced me to sit in the dark
like someone long dead.

7 God built a fence around me
that I cannot climb over,
and he chained me down.

8 Even when I shouted
and prayed for help,
he refused to listen.

9 God put big rocks in my way
and made me follow
a crooked path.

10 God was like a bear or a lion
waiting in ambush for me;

11 he dragged me from the road,
then tore me to shreds.t

12 God took careful aim
and shot his arrows

13 straight through my heart.

14 I am a joke to everyone—
no one ever stops
making fun of me.

15 God has turned my life sour.

16 He made me eat gravel
and rubbed me in the dirt.

17 I cannot find peace
or remember happiness.

18 I tell myself, “I am finished!
I can't count on the [Lord]
to do anything for me.”

19 Just thinking of my troubles
and my lonely wandering
makes me miserable.

20 That's all I ever think about,
and I am depressed.t

21 Then I remember something
that fills me with hope.

22 The [Lord]'s kindness never fails!
If he had not been merciful,
we would have been destroyed.t

23 The [Lord] can always be trusted
to show mercy each morning.

24 Deep in my heart I say,
“The [Lord] is all I need;
I can depend on him!”

25 The [Lord] is kind to everyone
who trusts and obeys him.

26 It is good to wait patiently
for the [Lord] to save us.

27 When we are young,
it is good to struggle hard

28 and to sit silently alone,
if this is what
the [Lord] intends.

29 Being rubbed in the dirt
can teach us a lesson;t

30 we can also learn from insults
and hard knocks.

31 The Lord won't always reject us!

32 He causes a lot of suffering,
but he also has pity
because of his great love.

33 The Lord doesn't enjoy
sending grief or pain.

34 Don't trample prisoners
under your feet

35 or cheat anyone out of
what is rightfully theirs.
God Most High sees everything,

36 and he knows when you refuse
to give someone a fair trial.

37 No one can do anything
without the Lord's approval.

38 Good and bad each happen
at the command
of God Most High.

39 We're still alive!
We shouldn't complain
when we are being punished
for our sins.

40 Instead, we should think
about the way we are living,
and turn back to the [Lord].

41 When we lift our hands
in prayer to God in heaven,
we should offer him our hearts
and say,

42 “We've sinned!
We've rebelled against you,
and you haven't forgiven us!

43 Anger is written all over you,
as you pursue and slaughter us
without showing pity.

44 You are behind a wall of clouds
that blocks out our prayers.

45 You allowed nations
to treat us like garbage;

46 our enemies curse us.

47 We are terrified and trapped,
caught and crushed.”

48 My people are destroyed!
Tears flood my eyes,

49 and they won't stop

50 until the [Lord] looks down
from heaven and helps.

51 I am horrified when I see
what enemies have done
to the young women of our city.

52 No one had reason to hate me,
but I was hunted down
like a bird.

53 Then they tried to kill me
by tossing me into a pit
and throwing stones at me.

54 Water covered my head—
I thought I was gone.

55 From the bottom of the pit,
I prayed to you, [Lord].

56 I begged you to listen.
“Help!” I shouted. “Save me!”
You answered my prayer

57 and came when I was in need.
You told me, “Don't worry!”

58 You rescued me
and saved my life.

59 You saw them abuse me, [Lord],
so make things right.

60 You know every plot
they have made against me.

61 Yes, you know their insults
and their evil plans.

62 All day long they attack
with words and whispers.

63 No matter what they are doing,
they keep on mocking me.

64 Pay them back for everything
they have done, [Lord]!

65 Put your curse on them
and make them suffer.t

66 Get angry and go after them
until not a trace is left
under the heavens.