Lamentations 3-5

New International Version

3 ^[a]I am the man who has seen affliction^(A)
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.^(B)
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness^(C) rather than light;
³ indeed, he has turned his hand against me^(D)
    again and again, all day long.

⁴ He has made my skin and my flesh grow old^(E)
    and has broken my bones.^(F)
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness^(G) and hardship.^(H)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.^(I)

⁷ He has walled me in so I cannot escape;^(J)
    he has weighed me down with chains.^(K)
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,^(L)
    he shuts out my prayer.^(M)
9 He has barred^(N) my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.^(O)

¹⁰ Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion^(P) in hiding,^(Q)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled^(R) me
    and left me without help.
¹² He drew his bow^(S)
    and made me the target^(T) for his arrows.^(U)

¹³ He pierced^(V) my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.^(W)
14 I became the laughingstock^(X) of all my people;^(Y)
    they mock me in song^(Z) all day long.
¹⁵ He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.^(AA)

¹⁶ He has broken my teeth with gravel;^(AB)
    he has trampled me in the dust.^(AC)
17 I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸ So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”^(AD)

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness^(AE) and the gall.^(AF)
20 I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast^(AG) within me.^(AH)
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love^(AI) we are not consumed,^(AJ)
    for his compassions never fail.^(AK)
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.^(AL)
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;^(AM)
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;^(AN)
26 it is good to wait quietly^(AO)
    for the salvation of the Lord.^(AP)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence,^(AQ)
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
²⁹ Let him bury his face in the dust^(AR)—
    there may yet be hope.^(AS)
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,^(AT)
    and let him be filled with disgrace.^(AU)

³¹ For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.^(AV)
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.^(AW)
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.^(AX)

³⁴ To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
³⁵ to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,^(AY)
36 to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?^(AZ)

³⁷ Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?^(BA)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?^(BB)
39 Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?^(BC)

⁴⁰ Let us examine our ways and test them,^(BD)
    and let us return to the Lord.^(BE)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
    to God in heaven,^(BF) and say:
⁴² “We have sinned and rebelled^(BG)
    and you have not forgiven.^(BH)

⁴³ “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued^(BI) us;
    you have slain without pity.^(BJ)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud^(BK)
    so that no prayer^(BL) can get through.^(BM)
45 You have made us scum^(BN) and refuse
    among the nations.

⁴⁶ “All our enemies have opened their mouths
    wide^(BO) against us.^(BP)
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,^(BQ)
    ruin and destruction.^(BR)”
⁴⁸ Streams of tears^(BS) flow from my eyes^(BT)
    because my people are destroyed.^(BU)

⁴⁹ My eyes will flow unceasingly,
    without relief,^(BV)
50 until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and sees.^(BW)
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
    because of all the women of my city.

⁵² Those who were my enemies without cause
    hunted me like a bird.^(BX)
53 They tried to end my life in a pit^(BY)
    and threw stones at me;
⁵⁴ the waters closed over my head,^(BZ)
    and I thought I was about to perish.^(CA)

⁵⁵ I called on your name, Lord,
    from the depths^(CB) of the pit.^(CC)
56 You heard my plea:^(CD) “Do not close your ears
    to my cry for relief.”
⁵⁷ You came near^(CE) when I called you,
    and you said, “Do not fear.”^(CF)

⁵⁸ You, Lord, took up my case;^(CG)
    you redeemed my life.^(CH)
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.^(CI)
    Uphold my cause!^(CJ)
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
    all their plots against me.^(CK)

⁶¹ Lord, you have heard their insults,^(CL)
    all their plots against me—
⁶² what my enemies whisper and mutter
    against me all day long.^(CM)
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
    they mock me in their songs.^(CN)

⁶⁴ Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
    for what their hands have done.^(CO)
65 Put a veil over their hearts,^(CP)
    and may your curse be on them!
⁶⁶ Pursue^(CQ) them in anger and destroy them
    from under the heavens of the Lord.

4 ^[b]How the gold has lost its luster,
    the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
    at every street corner.^(CR)

² How the precious children of Zion,^(CS)
    once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
    the work of a potter’s hands!

³ Even jackals offer their breasts
    to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless
    like ostriches in the desert.^(CT)

⁴ Because of thirst^(CU) the infant’s tongue
    sticks to the roof of its mouth;^(CV)
the children beg for bread,
    but no one gives it to them.^(CW)

⁵ Those who once ate delicacies
    are destitute in the streets.
Those brought up in royal purple^(CX)
    now lie on ash heaps.^(CY)

⁶ The punishment of my people
    is greater than that of Sodom,^(CZ)
which was overthrown in a moment
    without a hand turned to help her.

⁷ Their princes were brighter than snow
    and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
    their appearance like lapis lazuli.

⁸ But now they are blacker^(DA) than soot;
    they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;^(DB)
    it has become as dry as a stick.

⁹ Those killed by the sword are better off
    than those who die of famine;^(DC)
racked with hunger, they waste away
    for lack of food from the field.^(DD)

¹⁰ With their own hands compassionate women
    have cooked their own children,^(DE)
who became their food
    when my people were destroyed.

¹¹ The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;^(DF)
    he has poured out^(DG) his fierce anger.^(DH)
He kindled a fire^(DI) in Zion
    that consumed her foundations.^(DJ)

¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
    nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
    the gates of Jerusalem.^(DK)

¹³ But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
    and the iniquities of her priests,^(DL)
who shed within her
    the blood^(DM) of the righteous.

¹⁴ Now they grope through the streets
    as if they were blind.^(DN)
They are so defiled with blood^(DO)
    that no one dares to touch their garments.

¹⁵ “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.
    “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander^(DP) about,
    people among the nations say,
    “They can stay here no longer.”^(DQ)

¹⁶ The Lord himself has scattered them;
    he no longer watches over them.^(DR)
The priests are shown no honor,
    the elders^(DS) no favor.^(DT)

¹⁷ Moreover, our eyes failed,
    looking in vain^(DU) for help;^(DV)
from our towers we watched
    for a nation^(DW) that could not save us.

¹⁸ People stalked us at every step,
    so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
    for our end had come.^(DX)

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
    than eagles^(DY) in the sky;
they chased us^(DZ) over the mountains
    and lay in wait for us in the desert.^(EA)

²⁰ The Lord’s anointed,^(EB) our very life breath,
    was caught in their traps.^(EC)
We thought that under his shadow^(ED)
    we would live among the nations.

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
    you who live in the land of Uz.^(EE)
But to you also the cup^(EF) will be passed;
    you will be drunk and stripped naked.^(EG)

²² Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;^(EH)
    he will not prolong your exile.
But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,
    and expose your wickedness.^(EI)

5 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.^(EJ)
2 Our inheritance^(EK) has been turned over to strangers,^(EL)
    our homes^(EM) to foreigners.^(EN)
3 We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.^(EO)
4 We must buy the water we drink;^(EP)
    our wood can be had only at a price.^(EQ)
5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary^(ER) and find no rest.^(ES)
6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria^(ET)
    to get enough bread.
⁷ Our ancestors^(EU) sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.^(EV)
8 Slaves^(EW) rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.^(EX)
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.
¹⁰ Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.^(EY)
11 Women have been violated^(EZ) in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.
¹² Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders^(FA) are shown no respect.^(FB)
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.
¹⁴ The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.^(FC)
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.^(FD)
16 The crown^(FE) has fallen from our head.^(FF)
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!^(FG)
17 Because of this our hearts^(FH) are faint,^(FI)
    because of these things our eyes^(FJ) grow dim^(FK)
18 for Mount Zion,^(FL) which lies desolate,^(FM)
    with jackals prowling over it.

¹⁹ You, Lord, reign forever;^(FN)
    your throne endures^(FO) from generation to generation.
²⁰ Why do you always forget us?^(FP)
    Why do you forsake^(FQ) us so long?
²¹ Restore^(FR) us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
    renew our days as of old
²² unless you have utterly rejected us^(FS)
    and are angry with us beyond measure.^(FT)