Lamentations 3

The Prophet Speaks:

א (Alef)

1 I am the mant who has experiencedt affliction
from the rodt of his wrath.

2 He drove me into captivityt and made me walkt
in darkness and not light.

3 He repeatedlyt attacks me,
he turns his handt against me all day long.t

ב (Bet)

4 He has made my mortal skint waste away;
he has broken my bones.

5 He has besiegedt and surroundedt me
with bitter hardship.t

6 He has made me reside in deepest darknesst
like those who died long ago.

ג (Gimel)

7 He has walled me int so that I cannot get out;
he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.t

8 Also, when I cry out desperatelyt for help,t
he has shut out my prayer.t

9 He has blockedt every road I taket with a wall of hewn stones;
he has made every path impassable.t

ד (Dalet)

10 To me he is like a bear lying in ambush,t
like a hidden lions stalking its prey.t

11 He has obstructed my pathst and torn me to pieces;t
he has made me desolate.

12 He drewt his bow and made met
the target for his arrow.

ה (He)

13 He shott his arrowst
into my heart.t

14 I have become the laughingstock of all people,s
their mocking songt all day long.t

15 He has given me my fill of bitter herbs
and made me drunk with bitterness.t

ו (Vav)

16 He groundt my teeth in gravel;
he trampledt me in the dust.

17 It am depriveds of peace;t
I have forgotten what happinesst is.

18 So I said, “My endurance has expired;
I have lost all hope of deliverancet from the Lord.”

ז (Zayin)

19 Rememberst my impoverished and homeless condition,t
which is a bitter poison.t

20 Ist continually think aboutt this,
and Ist am depressed.st

21 But this I callt to mind;t
therefore I have hope:

ח (Khet)

22 The Lord’s loyal kindnesst never ceases;s
his compassionst never end.

23 They are fresht every morning;
your faithfulness is abundant!t

24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself,t
so I will put my hope in him.

ט (Tet)

25 The Lord is good to those who trustt in him,
to the onet who seeks him.

26 It is good to wait patientlyt
for deliverance from the Lord.t

27 It is good for a mant
to beart the yokes while he is young.t

י (Yod)

28 Let a persont sit alone in silence,
when the Lordt is disciplining him.t

29 Let him bury his face in the dust;t
perhaps there is hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him;t
let him have his fill of insults.

כ (Kaf)

31 For the Lordss will not
reject us forever.t

32 Though he causes ust grief, he then has compassion on ust
according to the abundance of his loyal kindness.s

33 For he is not predisposed to afflictt
or to grieve people.t

ל (Lamed)

34 To crush underfoot
all the earth’s prisoners,t

35 to deprive a persont of his rightst
in the presence of the Most High,

36 to defraud a person in a lawsuit –
the Lordss does not approvet of such things!

מ (Mem)

37 Whose command was ever fulfilledt
unless the Lordss decreed it?

38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes –
both calamity and blessing?t

39 Why should any living persont complain
when punished for his sins?st

נ (Nun)

40 Let us carefully examine our ways,t
and let us return to the Lord.

41 Let us lift up our heartss and our hands
to God in heaven:

42 “Wet have blatantly rebelled;t
yout have not forgiven.”

ס (Samek)

43 You shrouded yourselft with anger and then pursued us;
you killed without mercy.

44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can get through.

45 You make us like filthy scumt
in the estimationt of the nations.

פ (Pe)

46 All our enemies have gloated over us;t

47 Panic and pitfallt have come upon us,
devastation and destruction.t

48 Streamst of tears flow from my eyest
because my peoplet are destroyed.t

ע (Ayin)

49 Tears flow from my eyest and will not stop;
there will be no breakt

50 until the Lord looks down from heaven
and sees what has happened.t

51 What my eyes seet grieves met –
all the suffering of the daughters in my city.t

צ (Tsade)

52 For no good reasont my enemies
hunted me downt like a bird.

53 They shut met up in a pit
and threw stones at me.

54 The waters closed over my head;
I thoughtt I was about to die.t

ק (Qof)

55 I have called on your name, O Lord,
from the deepest pit.t

56 You heardt my plea:t
“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”t

57 You came neart on the day I called to you;
you said,t “Do not fear!”

ר (Resh)

58 O Lord,ss you championedt my cause,t
you redeemed my life.

59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;
pronounce judgment on my behalf!t

60 You have seen all their vengeance,
all their plots against me.s

ש (Sin/Shin)

61 You have heardt their taunts, O Lord,
all their plots against me.

62 My assailants revile and conspiret
against me all day long.

63 Watch them from morning to evening;t
I am the object of their mocking songs.

ת (Tav)

64 Pay them backt what they deserve,t O Lord,
according to what theyt have done.t

65 Give them a distraught heart;t
may your curse be on them!

66 Pursue themt in anger and eradicate them
from under the Lord's heaven.

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.