Lamentations 3

The Prophet’s Afflictions

^{verse 1}I^a am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

^{verse 2}He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness instead of light.

^{verse 3}Indeed, He keeps turning His hand

against me all day long.

^{verse 4}He has worn away my flesh and skin;

He has shattered my bones.

^{verse 5}He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness and hardship.

^{verse 6}He has made me dwell in darkness

like those dead for ages.

^{verse 7}He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

He has weighed me down with chains.

^{verse 8}Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He shuts out my prayer.

^{verse 9}He has barred my ways with cut stones;

He has made my paths crooked.

^{verse 10}He is a bear lying in wait,

a lion hiding in ambush.

^{verse 11}He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces;

He left me without help.

^{verse 12}He bent His bow

and set me as the target for His arrow.

^{verse 13}He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.

^{verse 14}I am a laughingstock to all my people;

they mock me in song all day long.

^{verse 15}He has filled me with bitterness;

He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

^{verse 16}He has ground my teeth with gravel

and trampled me in the dust.

^{verse 17}My soul has been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

^{verse 18}So I say, “My strength has perished,

along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

^{verse 19}Remember my affliction and wandering,

the wormwood and the gall.

^{verse 20}Surely my soul remembers

and is humbled within me.

^{verse 21}Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

^{verse 22}Because of the loving devotion^b of the LORD we are not consumed,

for His mercies never fail.

^{verse 23}They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

^{verse 24}“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”

^{verse 25}The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

^{verse 26}It is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

^{verse 27}It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

^{verse 28}Let him sit alone in silence,

for the LORD has laid it upon him.

^{verse 29}Let him bury his face in the dust—

perhaps there is still hope.

^{verse 30}Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with reproach.

^{verse 31}For the Lord will not

cast us off forever.

^{verse 32}Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion

according to His abundant loving devotion.

^{verse 33}For He does not willingly afflict

or grieve the sons of men.

^{verse 34}To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the land,

^{verse 35}to deny a man justice

before the Most High,

^{verse 36}to subvert a man in his lawsuit—

of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

^{verse 37}Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has ordained it?

^{verse 38}Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?

^{verse 39}Why should any mortal man complain,

in view of his sins?

^{verse 40}Let us examine and test our ways,

and turn back to the LORD.

^{verse 41}Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

^{verse 42}“We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.”

^{verse 43}You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without pity.

^{verse 44}You have covered Yourself with a cloud

that no prayer can pass through.

^{verse 45}You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations.

^{verse 46}All our enemies

open their mouths against us.

^{verse 47}Panic and pitfall have come upon us —

devastation and destruction.

^{verse 48}Streams of tears flow from my eyes

over the destruction of the daughter of my people.

^{verse 49}My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without relief,

^{verse 50}until the LORD

looks down from heaven and sees.

^{verse 51}My eyes bring grief to my soul

because of all the daughters of my city.

^{verse 52}Without cause my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

^{verse 53}They dropped me alive into a pit

and cast stones upon me.

^{verse 54}The waters flowed over my head,

and I thought I was going to die.

^{verse 55}I called on Your name, O LORD,

out of the depths of the Pit.

^{verse 56}You heard my plea:

“Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

^{verse 57}You drew near when I called on You;

You said, “Do not be afraid.”

^{verse 58}You defend my cause, O Lord;

You redeem my life.

^{verse 59}You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me;

vindicate my cause!

^{verse 60}You have seen all their malice,

all their plots against me.

^{verse 61}O LORD, You have heard their insults,

all their plots against me —

^{verse 62}the slander and murmuring of my assailants

against me all day long.

^{verse 63}When they sit and when they rise,

see how they mock me in song.

^{verse 64}You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,

according to the work of their hands.

^{verse 65}Put a veil of anguish over their hearts;

may Your curse be upon them!

^{verse 66}You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them

from under Your heavens, O LORD.