Lamentations 3

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

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

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

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

⁵He has built against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

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

⁷He has walled me in, so I can't escape; he has made my chains heavy.

⁸Yes, when I cry, and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.

⁹He has walled up my ways with cut stone; he has made my paths crooked.

¹⁰He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in hiding.

¹¹He has obstructed my path, and torn me in pieces; he has made me desolate.

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

¹³He has caused the arrows of his quiver to pierce my inward parts.

¹⁴I have become a laughingstock to all my people, and their song all the day.

¹⁵He has filled me with bitterness, he has given me in full measure wormwood.

¹⁶He has also broken my teeth with gravel; he has pressed me down in the dust.

¹⁷You have removed my soul far away from peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.

¹⁸And I said, "My strength and my hope has perished from the Lord."

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

²⁰My soul considers them, and is depressed.

²¹But this I call to my mind; therefore I have hope:

²²The Lord's faithful love does not cease; his compassion does not fail.

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

²⁴"The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore will I hope in him."

²⁵The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.

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

²⁷It is good for a man that he bear the yoke while he is young.

²⁸Let him sit alone and keep silence when he is disciplining him.

²⁹Let him put his mouth to the dust, there may yet be hope.

³⁰Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him; let him be filled with insults.

³¹For the Lord will not reject forever.

³²For though he may cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the abundance of his loving kindness.

³³For he is not predisposed to bring affliction or suffering to the children of men.

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

³⁵to deprive a man of justice before the face of the Most High,

³⁶to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve.

³⁷Who can speak a thing and have it come to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

³⁸Doesn't both calamity and good come out of the mouth of the Most High?

³⁹Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

⁴⁰Let us examine and search our ways, and return to the Lord.

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

⁴²We have transgressed and have rebelled, and you have not forgiven.

⁴³You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you killed without sparing.

⁴⁴You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.

⁴⁵You have made us rubbish and refuse in the midst of the peoples.

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

⁴⁷Fear and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.

⁴⁸Streams of tears run down from my eyes because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

⁴⁹My tears flow and do not cease, without respite,

⁵⁰until the Lord looks down and sees from heaven.

⁵¹My eyes bring my soul grief, because of all the daughters of my city.

⁵²They have chased me relentlessly like a bird, those who are my enemies without cause.

⁵³They have cut off my life in a pit, and have cast a stone on me.

⁵⁴Waters flowed over my head; I said, 'I am finished.'

⁵⁵I called on your name, Lord, out of the depths of the pit.

⁵⁶You heard my voice; do not hide your ear at my sighs, to my cry.

⁵⁷You drew near in the day that I called on you; you said, "Do not be afraid."

⁵⁸Lord, you have taken up the case for my soul; you have redeemed my life.

⁵⁹Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me; judge my case.

⁶⁰You have seen all their vengeance and all their plots against me.

⁶¹You have heard their insults, Lord, and all their plots against me.

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

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

⁶⁴You will render to them what they deserve, Lord, according to the work of their hands.

⁶⁵You will give them hardness of heart as your curse to them.

⁶⁶You will pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.

Lamentations 3

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

²He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

³Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

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

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

⁶He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

⁷He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

⁸Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

⁹He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

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

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

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

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

¹⁴I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

¹⁵He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

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

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

¹⁸And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:

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

²⁰My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

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

²²It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

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

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

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

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

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

²⁸He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

²⁹He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

³⁰He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

³¹For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

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

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

³⁴To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

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

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

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

³⁸Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

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

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

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

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

⁴³Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

⁴⁴Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.

⁴⁵Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

⁴⁶All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

⁴⁷Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

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

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

⁵⁰Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.

⁵¹Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.

⁵²Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

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

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

⁵⁵I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.

⁵⁶Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

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

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

⁵⁹O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

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

⁶¹Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me;

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

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

⁶⁴Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands.

⁶⁵Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

⁶⁶Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord.