Lamentations 3:1-66 (New American Standard)

Jeremiah Shares Israel's Affliction

1 I am the man who has ¹seen affliction Because of the rod of His wrath. 2 He has driven me and made me walk In ²darkness and not in light. 3 Surely against me He has ³turned His hand Repeatedly all the day. 4 He has caused my ⁴flesh and my skin to waste away, He has ⁵broken my bones. 5 He has ⁶besieged and encompassed me with ⁷bitterness and hardship. 6 In ⁸dark places He has made me dwell, Like those who have long been dead. 7 He has ⁹walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my ^a10chain heavy. 8 Even when I cry out and call for help, He ¹¹shuts out my prayer. 9 He has ¹²blocked my ways with hewn stone ; He has made my paths crooked. 10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places. 11 He has turned aside my ways and ¹³torn me to pieces ; He has made me desolate. 12 He ¹⁴bent His bow And ¹⁵set me as a target for the arrow. 13 He made the ^barrows of His ¹⁶quiver To enter into my ^cinward parts. 14 I have become a ¹⁷laughingstock to all my people, Their mocking ¹⁸song all the day. 15 He has ¹⁹filled me with bitterness, He has made me drunk with wormwood. 16 He has ²⁰broken my teeth with ²¹gravel ; He has made me cower in the ²²dust. 17 My soul has been rejected ²³from peace ; I have forgotten ^dhappiness. 18 So I say, "My strength has perished, And so has my ²⁴hope from the LORD."

Hope of Relief in God's Mercy

19 Remember my affliction and my ^ewandering, the ²⁵wormwood and bitterness. 20 Surely ²⁶my soul remembers And is ²⁷bowed down within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have ²⁸hope. 22 The LORD'S ²⁹lovingkindnesses ^findeed never cease, ³⁰For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new ³¹every morning ; Great is ³²Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my ³³portion," says my soul, "Therefore I ³⁴have hope in Him." 25 The LORD is good to those who ³⁵wait for Him, To the ^gperson who ³⁶seeks Him. 26 It is good that he ³⁷waits silently For the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man that he should bear The yoke in his youth. 28 Let him ³⁸sit alone and be silent Since He has laid it on him. 29 Let him ^hput his mouth in the ³⁹dust, Perhaps there is ⁴⁰hope. 30 Let him give his ⁴¹cheek to ⁱthe smiter, Let him be filled with reproach. 31 For the Lord will ⁴²not reject forever, 32 For if He causes grief, Then He will have ⁴³compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness. 33 For He ⁴⁴does not afflict ^jwillingly Or grieve the sons of men. 34 To crush under His feet All the prisoners of the ^kland, 35 To ^ldeprive a man of ⁴⁵justice In the presence of the Most High, 36 To ^m46defraud a man in his lawsuit - Of these things the Lord does not ⁿapprove. 37 Who is ^othere who speaks and it ⁴⁷comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That ^p48both good and ill go forth ? 39 Why should any living ^qmortal, or any man, Offer ⁴⁹complaint ^rin view of his sins ? 40 Let us ⁵⁰examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD. 41 We ⁵¹lift up our heart ^sand hands Toward God in heaven ; 42 We have ⁵²transgressed and rebelled, You have ⁵³not pardoned. 43 You have covered Yourself with ⁵⁴anger And ⁵⁵pursued us; You have slain and ⁵⁶have not spared. 44 You have ⁵⁷covered Yourself with a cloud So that ⁵⁸no prayer can pass through. 45 You have made us mere ⁵⁹offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. 46 All our enemies have ⁶⁰opened their mouths against us. 47 ⁶¹Panic and pitfall have befallen us, Devastation and destruction ; 48 My ^t62eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 My eyes pour down ⁶³unceasingly , Without stopping, 50 Until the LORD ⁶⁴looks down And sees from heaven. 51 My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. 52 My enemies ⁶⁵without cause Hunted me down ⁶⁶like a bird ; 53 They have silenced ^ume ⁶⁷in the pit And have ^v68placed a stone on me. 54 Waters flowed ⁶⁹over my head ; I said, "I am cut off !" 55 I ⁷⁰called on Your name, O LORD, Out of the lowest pit. 56 You have ⁷¹heard my voice, "⁷²Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, From my cry for help." 57 You ⁷³drew near when I called on You; You said, "⁷⁴Do not fear !" 58 O Lord, You ⁷⁵have pleaded my soul's cause ; You have ⁷⁶redeemed my life. 59 O LORD, You have ⁷⁷seen my oppression ; ⁷⁸Judge my case. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, All their ⁷⁹schemes against me. 61 You have heard their ⁸⁰reproach, O LORD, All their schemes against me. 62 The ⁸¹lips of my assailants and their whispering Are against me all day long. 63 Look on their ⁸²sitting and their rising ; ⁸³I am their mocking song. 64 You will ⁸⁴recompense them, O LORD, According to the work of their hands. 65 You will give them ^w85hardness of heart, Your curse will be on them. 66 You will ⁸⁶pursue them in anger and destroy them From under the ⁸⁷heavens of the LORD !