Lamentations 3:6-16

6 He locked me up in deep darkness, like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.
7 He shuts me in so I'll never get out, manacles my hands, shackles my feet.
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, he locks up my prayers and throws away the key.
9 He sets up blockades with quarried limestone. He's got me cornered.
10 He's a prowling bear tracking me down, a lion in hiding ready to pounce.
11 He knocked me from the path and ripped me to pieces. When he finished, there was nothing left of me.
12 He took out his bow and arrows and used me for target practice.
13 He shot me in the stomach with arrows from his quiver.
14 Everyone took me for a joke, made me the butt of their mocking ballads.
15 He forced rotten, stinking food down my throat, bloated me with vile drinks.
16 He ground my face into the gravel. He pounded me into the mud.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.