Lamentations 3

Christian Standard Bible

3 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath.
² He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.^(A)
3 Yes, he repeatedly turns his hand
against me all day long.

⁴ He has worn away my flesh and skin;^(B)
he has broken my bones.^(C)
5 He has laid siege against me,^(D)
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.^(E)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.^(F)

⁷ He has walled me in so I cannot get out;^(G)
he has weighed me down with chains.
⁸ Even when I cry out and plead for help,
he blocks out my prayer.^(H)
9 He has walled in my ways with blocks of stone;^(I)
he has made my paths crooked.^(J)

¹⁰ He is^[a] a bear waiting in ambush,
a lion in hiding.^(K)
11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
he left me desolate.
¹² He strung his bow^(L)
and set me as the target for his arrow.

¹³ He pierced my kidneys
with shafts from his quiver.^(M)
14 I am a laughingstock^(N) to all my people,^[b]
mocked by their songs^(O) all day long.
¹⁵ He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.^(P)

¹⁶ He ground my teeth with gravel^(Q)
and made me cower^[c] in the dust.
¹⁷ I have been deprived^[d] of peace;^(R)
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸ Then I thought, “My future^[e] is lost,
as well as my hope from the Lord.”

¹⁹ Remember^[f] my affliction and my homelessness,^(S)
the wormwood and the poison.^(T)
20 I continually remember them
and have become depressed.^[g](U)
21 Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:^(V)

²² Because of the Lord’s faithful love^(W)
we do not perish,^[h]
for his mercies never end.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!^(X)
24 I say, “The Lord is my portion,^(Y)
therefore I will put my hope in him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait^(Z) for him,
to the person who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good to wait quietly^(AA)
for salvation from the Lord.^(AB)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke^(AC)
while he is still young.

²⁸ Let him sit alone and be silent,^(AD)
for God has disciplined^[i] him.
²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust^(AE)—
perhaps there is still hope.
³⁰ Let him offer his cheek
to the one who would strike him;^(AF)
let him be filled with disgrace.

³¹ For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
³² Even if he causes suffering,
he will show compassion
according to the abundance of his faithful love.^(AG)
33 For he does not enjoy bringing affliction^(AH)
or suffering on mankind.

³⁴ Crushing all the prisoners of the land^[j]
beneath one’s feet,
³⁵ denying justice to a man^(AI)
in the presence of the Most High,
³⁶ or subverting a person in his lawsuit^(AJ)—
the Lord does not approve of these things.

³⁷ Who is there who speaks and it happens,
unless the Lord has ordained it?^(AK)
38 Do not both adversity and good
come from the mouth of the Most High?^(AL)
39 Why should any living person complain,
any man, because of the punishment for his sins?

⁴⁰ Let’s examine and probe our ways,
and turn back to the Lord.^(AM)
41 Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands^(AN)
to God in heaven:
⁴² “We have sinned and rebelled;
you have not forgiven.^(AO)

⁴³ “You have covered yourself in anger and pursued us;
you have killed without compassion.^(AP)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can get through.^(AQ)
45 You have made us disgusting filth
among the peoples.^(AR)

⁴⁶ “All our enemies
open their mouths against us.^(AS)
47 We have experienced panic and pitfall,^(AT)
devastation and destruction.”
⁴⁸ My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.

⁴⁹ My eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,^(AU)
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.^(AV)
51 My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.

⁵² For no reason, my enemies^[k]
hunted me like a bird.^(AW)
53 They smothered my life in^[l] a pit^(AX)
and threw stones on me.
⁵⁴ Water flooded over my head,^(AY)
and I thought, “I’m going to die!” ^(AZ)

⁵⁵ I called on your name, Lord,
from the depths of the pit.
⁵⁶ You heard my plea:
Do not ignore my cry for relief.
⁵⁷ You came near whenever I called you;
you said, “Do not be afraid.”

⁵⁸ You championed my cause, Lord;^(BA)
you redeemed my life.^(BB)
59 Lord, you saw the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
⁶⁰ You saw all their vengefulness,
all their plots against me.^(BC)

⁶¹ Lord, you heard their insults,^(BD)
all their plots against me.
⁶² The slander^[m] and murmuring of my opponents
attack me all day long.
⁶³ When they sit and when they rise, look,
I am mocked by their songs.^(BE)

⁶⁴ You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
according to the work of their hands.^(BF)
65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish.^[n](BG)
May your curse be on them!
⁶⁶ You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
under your heavens.^[o](BH)