Lamentations 3

Contemporary English Version

⁷ God built a fence around me
that I cannot climb over,
    and he chained me down.
⁸ Even when I shouted
and prayed for help,
    he refused to listen.
⁹ God put big rocks in my way
and made me follow
    a crooked path.
¹⁰ God was like a bear or a lion
    waiting in ambush for me;
¹¹ he dragged me from the road,
    then tore me to shreds.^[a]
12 God took careful aim
and shot his arrows
¹³     straight through my heart.

¹⁴ I am a joke to everyone—
no one ever stops
    making fun of me.
¹⁵ God has turned my life sour.
¹⁶ He made me eat gravel
    and rubbed me in the dirt.
¹⁷ I cannot find peace
    or remember happiness.

¹⁸ I tell myself, “I am finished!
I can't count on the Lord
    to do anything for me.”
¹⁹ Just thinking of my troubles
and my lonely wandering
    makes me miserable.
²⁰ That's all I ever think about,
    and I am depressed.^[b]
21 Then I remember something
    that fills me with hope.
²² The Lord's kindness never fails!
If he had not been merciful,
    we would have been destroyed.^[c]
23 The Lord can always be trusted
    to show mercy each morning.
²⁴ Deep in my heart I say,
“The Lord is all I need;
    I can depend on him!”

²⁵ The Lord is kind to everyone
    who trusts and obeys him.
²⁶ It is good to wait patiently
    for the Lord to save us.
²⁷ When we are young,
    it is good to struggle hard
²⁸ and to sit silently alone,
if this is what
    the Lord intends.
²⁹ Being rubbed in the dirt
    can teach us a lesson;^[d]
30 we can also learn from insults
    and hard knocks.

³¹ The Lord won't always reject us!
³²     He causes a lot of suffering,
but he also has pity
    because of his great love.
³³ The Lord doesn't enjoy
    sending grief or pain.

³⁴ Don't trample prisoners
    under your feet
³⁵ or cheat anyone out of
    what is rightfully theirs.
God Most High sees everything,
³⁶ and he knows when you refuse
    to give someone a fair trial.
³⁷ No one can do anything
    without the Lord's approval.
³⁸ Good and bad each happen
at the command
    of God Most High.
³⁹ We're still alive!
    We shouldn't complain
when we are being punished
    for our sins.
⁴⁰ Instead, we should think
about the way we are living,
    and turn back to the Lord.

⁴¹ When we lift our hands
    in prayer to God in heaven,
we should offer him our hearts
and say, ⁴²     “We've sinned!
We've rebelled against you,
    and you haven't forgiven us!
⁴³ Anger is written all over you,
as you pursue and slaughter us
    without showing pity.
⁴⁴ You are behind a wall of clouds
    that blocks out our prayers.
⁴⁵ You allowed nations
to treat us like garbage;
⁴⁶     our enemies curse us.
⁴⁷ We are terrified and trapped,
    caught and crushed.”

⁴⁸ My people are destroyed!
Tears flood my eyes,
⁴⁹     and they won't stop
⁵⁰ until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and helps.
⁵¹ I am horrified when I see
    what enemies have done
to the young women of our city.

⁵² No one had reason to hate me,
but I was hunted down
    like a bird.
⁵³ Then they tried to kill me
by tossing me into a pit
    and throwing stones at me.
⁵⁴ Water covered my head—
    I thought I was gone.

⁵⁵ From the bottom of the pit,
    I prayed to you, Lord.
⁵⁶ I begged you to listen.
    “Help!” I shouted. “Save me!”
You answered my prayer
⁵⁷ and came when I was in need.
    You told me, “Don't worry!”
⁵⁸ You rescued me
    and saved my life.
⁵⁹ You saw them abuse me, Lord,
    so make things right.
⁶⁰ You know every plot
    they have made against me.
⁶¹ Yes, you know their insults
    and their evil plans.
⁶² All day long they attack
    with words and whispers.
⁶³ No matter what they are doing,
    they keep on mocking me.

⁶⁴ Pay them back for everything
    they have done, Lord!
⁶⁵ Put your curse on them
    and make them suffer.^[e]
66 Get angry and go after them
until not a trace is left
    under the heavens.