Old/New Testament
א (Alef)[a]
The Prophet Speaks
3 I am the man[b] who has experienced[c] affliction
from the rod[d] of theLord’s wrath.
2 He drove me into captivity[e] and made me walk[f]
in darkness and not light.
3 He repeatedly[g] attacks me;
he turns his hand[h] against me all day long.[i]
ב (Bet)
4 He has made my mortal skin[j] waste away;
he has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged[k] and surrounded[l] me
with bitter hardship.[m]
6 He has made me reside in deepest darkness[n]
like those who died long ago.
ג (Gimel)
7 He has walled me in[o] so that I cannot get out;
he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.[p]
8 Also, when I cry out desperately[q] for help,[r]
he has shut out my prayer.[s]
9 He has blocked[t] every road I take[u] with a wall of hewn stones;
he has made every path impassable.[v]
ד (Dalet)
10 To me he is like a bear lying in ambush,[w]
like a hidden lion[x] stalking its prey.[y]
11 He has obstructed my paths[z] and torn me to pieces;[aa]
he has made me desolate.
12 He drew[ab] his bow and made me[ac]
the target for his arrow.
ה (He)
13 He shot[ad] his arrows[ae]
into my heart.[af]
14 I have become the laughingstock of all people,[ag]
their mocking song[ah] all day long.[ai]
15 He has given me my fill of bitter herbs
and made me drunk with bitterness.[aj]
ו (Vav)
16 He ground[ak] my teeth in gravel;
he trampled[al] me in the dust.
17 I[am] am deprived[an] of peace;[ao]
I have forgotten what happiness[ap] is.
18 So I said, “My endurance has expired;
I have lost all hope of deliverance[aq] from the Lord.”
ז (Zayin)
19 Remember[ar] my impoverished and homeless condition,[as]
which is a bitter poison.[at]
20 I[au] continually think about[av] this,
and I[aw] am depressed.[ax]
21 But this I call[ay] to mind;[az]
therefore I have hope:
ח (Khet)
22 The Lord’s loyal kindness[ba] never ceases;[bb]
his compassions[bc] never end.
23 They are fresh[bd] every morning;
your faithfulness is abundant![be]
24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself,[bf]
so I will put my hope in him.
ט (Tet)
25 The Lord is good to those who trust in[bg] him,
to the one[bh] who seeks him.
26 It is good to wait patiently[bi]
for deliverance from the Lord.[bj]
27 It is good for a man[bk]
to bear[bl] the yoke[bm] while he is young.[bn]
י (Yod)
28 Let a person[bo] sit alone in silence,
when the Lord[bp] is disciplining him.[bq]
29 Let him bury his face in the dust;[br]
perhaps there is hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him;[bs]
let him have his fill of insults.
כ (Kaf)
31 For the Lord[bt] will not
reject us forever.[bu]
32 Though he causes us[bv] grief, he then has compassion on us[bw]
according to the abundance of his loyal kindness.[bx]
33 For he is not predisposed to afflict[by]
or to grieve people.[bz]
ל (Lamed)
34 To crush underfoot
all the earth’s prisoners,[ca]
35 to deprive a person[cb] of his rights[cc]
in the presence of the Most High,
36 to defraud a person in a lawsuit—
the Lord[cd] does not approve[ce] of such things!
מ (Mem)
37 Whose command was ever fulfilled[cf]
unless the Lord[cg] decreed it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes—
both calamity and blessing?[ch]
39 Why should any living person[ci] complain
when punished for his sins?[cj]
נ (Nun)
40 Let us carefully examine our ways,[ck]
and let us return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts[cl] and our hands
to God in heaven:
42 “We[cm] have blatantly rebelled;[cn]
you[co] have not forgiven.”
ס (Samek)
43 You shrouded yourself[cp] with anger and then pursued us;
you killed without mercy.
44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer could get through.
45 You make us like filthy scum[cq]
in the estimation[cr] of the nations.
פ (Pe)
46 All our enemies have gloated over us;[cs]
47 panic and pitfall[ct] have come upon us,
devastation and destruction.[cu]
48 Streams[cv] of tears flow from my eyes[cw]
because my people[cx] are destroyed.[cy]
ע (Ayin)
49 Tears flow from my eyes[cz] and will not stop;
there will be no break[da]
50 until the Lord looks down from heaven
and sees what has happened.[db]
51 What my eyes see[dc] grieves me[dd]—
all the suffering of the daughters in my city.[de]
צ (Tsade)
52 For no good reason[df] my enemies
hunted me down[dg] like a bird.
53 They shut me[dh] up in a pit
and threw stones at me.
54 The waters closed over my head;
I thought[di] I was about to die.[dj]
ק (Qof)
55 I have called on your name, O Lord,
from the deepest pit.[dk]
56 You heard[dl] my plea:[dm]
“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”[dn]
57 You came near[do] on the day I called to you;
you said,[dp] “Do not fear!”
ר (Resh)
58 O Lord,[dq] you championed[dr] my cause;[ds]
you redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;
pronounce judgment on my behalf![dt]
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
all their plots against me.[du]
ש (Sin/Shin)
61 You have heard[dv] their taunts, O Lord,
all their plots against me.
62 My assailants revile and conspire[dw]
against me all day long.
63 Watch them from morning to evening;[dx]
I am the object of their mocking songs.
ת (Tav)
64 Pay them back[dy] what they deserve,[dz] O Lord,
according to what they[ea] have done.[eb]
65 Give them a distraught heart;[ec]
may your curse be on them!
66 Pursue them[ed] in anger and eradicate them
from under the Lord’s heaven.
א (Alef)
The Prophet Speaks
4 [ee] Alas![ef] Gold has lost its luster;[eg]
pure gold loses value.[eh]
Jewels[ei] are scattered
on every street corner.[ej]
ב (Bet)
2 The precious sons of Zion
were worth their weight in gold—
Alas!—but now they are treated like[ek] broken clay pots,
made by a potter.[el]
ג (Gimel)
3 Even the jackals[em] nurse their young
at their breast,[en]
but my people[eo] are cruel,
like ostriches[ep] in the wilderness.
ד (Dalet)
4 The infant’s tongue sticks
to the roof of its mouth due to thirst;
little children beg for bread,[eq]
but no one gives them even a morsel.[er]
ה (He)
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies[es]
are now starving to death[et] in the streets.
Those who grew up[eu] wearing expensive clothes[ev]
are now dying[ew] amid garbage.[ex]
ו (Vav)
6 The punishment[ey] of my people[ez]
exceeds that of[fa] Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
with no one to help her.[fb]
ז (Zayin)
7 Our consecrated ones[fc] were brighter than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies more ruddy than corals,
their hair[fd] like lapis lazuli.[fe]
ח (Khet)
8 Now their appearance[ff] is darker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it is dried up, like tree bark.
ט (Tet)
9 Those who die by the sword[fg] are better off
than those who die of hunger,[fh]
those who[fi] waste away,[fj]
struck down[fk] from lack of[fl] food.[fm]
י (Yod)
10 The hands of tenderhearted women[fn]
cooked their own children,
who became their food,[fo]
when my people[fp] were destroyed.[fq]
כ (Kaf)
11 The Lord fully vented[fr] his wrath;
he poured out his fierce anger.[fs]
He started a fire in Zion;
it consumed her foundations.[ft]
ל (Lamed)
12 Neither the kings of the earth
nor the people of the lands[fu] ever thought[fv]
that enemy or foe could enter
the gates[fw] of Jerusalem.
מ (Mem)
13 But it happened[fx] due to the sins of her prophets[fy]
and the iniquities of her priests,
who poured out in her midst
the blood of the righteous.
נ (Nun)
14 They[fz] wander blindly[ga] through the streets,
defiled by the blood they shed,[gb]
while no one dares[gc]
to touch their garments.
ס (Samek)
15 People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!
Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”
So they have fled and wander about;
but the nations say,[gd] “They may not stay here any longer.”
פ (Pe)
16 The Lord himself[ge] has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
They did not honor the priests;[gf]
they did not show favor to the elders.[gg]
ע (Ayin)
The People of Jerusalem Lament
17 Our eyes continually failed us
as we looked in vain for help.[gh]
From our watchtowers we watched
for a nation that could not rescue us.
צ (Tsade)
18 Our enemies[gi] hunted us down at every step[gj]
so that we could not walk about in our streets.
Our end drew near, our days were numbered,[gk]
for our end had come!
ק (Qof)
19 Those who pursued us were swifter
than eagles[gl] in the sky.[gm]
They chased us over the mountains;
they ambushed us in the wilderness.
ר (Resh)
20 Our very life breath—the Lord’s anointed king[gn]—
was caught in their traps,[go]
of whom we thought,[gp]
“Under his protection[gq] we will survive among the nations.”
ש (Sin/Shin)
The Prophet Speaks
21 Rejoice and be glad for now,[gr] O people of Edom,[gs]
who reside in the land of Uz.
But the cup of judgment[gt] will pass[gu] to you also;
you will get drunk and take off your clothes.
ת (Tav)
22 O people of Zion,[gv] your punishment[gw] will come to an end;[gx]
he will not prolong your exile.
But, O people of Edom,[gy] he will punish your sin[gz]
and reveal your offenses!
The People of Jerusalem Pray
5 [ha] O Lord, reflect on[hb] what has happened to us;
consider[hc] and look at[hd] our disgrace.
2 Our inheritance[he] is turned over to strangers;
foreigners now occupy our homes.[hf]
3 We have become fatherless orphans;
our mothers have become widows.
4 We must pay money[hg] for our own water;[hh]
we must buy our own wood at a steep price.[hi]
5 We are pursued—they are breathing down our necks;[hj]
we are weary and have no rest.[hk]
6 We have submitted[hl] to Egypt and Assyria
in order to buy food to eat.[hm]
7 Our forefathers[hn] sinned and are dead,[ho]
but we[hp] suffer[hq] their punishment.[hr]
8 Slaves[hs] rule over us;
there is no one to rescue us from their power.[ht]
9 At the risk[hu] of our lives[hv] we get our food[hw]
because robbers lurk[hx] in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven
due to a fever from hunger.[hy]
11 They raped[hz] women in Zion,
virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes were hung by their hands;
elders were mistreated.[ia]
13 The young men perform menial labor;[ib]
boys stagger from their labor.[ic]
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
the young men have stopped playing their music.
15 Our hearts no longer have any joy;[id]
our dancing is turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this, our hearts are sick;[ie]
because of these things, we can hardly see[if] through our tears.[ig]
18 For wild animals[ih] are prowling over Mount Zion,
which lies desolate.
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why do you keep on forgetting[ii] us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
21 Bring us back to yourself, O Lord, so that we may return[ij] to you;
renew our life[ik] as in days before,[il]
22 unless[im] you have utterly rejected us[in]
and are angry with us beyond measure.[io]
Drawing Near to God in Enduring Faith
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters,[a] since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us[b] through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,[c] 21 and since we have a great priest[d] over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings,[e] because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience[f] and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works,[g] 25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day[h] drawing near.[i]
26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us,[j] 27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury[k] of fire that will consume God’s enemies.[l] 28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death[m] without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.[n] 29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for[o] the Son of God, and profanes[p] the blood of the covenant that made him holy,[q] and insults the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[r] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[s] 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. 34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison,[t] and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly[u] had a better and lasting possession. 35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it[v] has great reward. 36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.[w] 37 For just a little longer[x] and he who is coming will arrive and not delay.[y] 38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I[z] take no pleasure in him.[aa] 39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.[ab]
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