刑罚、悔改和盼望

我在耶和华烈怒的杖下受尽痛苦。
祂把我赶进黑暗,
使我不见光明,
又屡屡攻击我,终日不断。

祂使我皮肉枯槁,
祂折断我的骨头。
祂使我四面受困,
尝尽痛苦艰辛。
祂使我住在幽暗中,
像久已死去的人。

祂围困我,使我无法逃脱,
祂给我戴上沉重的铜链。
即使我哀哭呼求,
祂也掩耳不听。
祂用凿好的石头阻挡我的去路,
使我的道路曲折难行。

10 祂像埋伏的巨熊,
又像伺机突袭的猛狮,
11 把我拖离大路,
将我撕成碎片,一片凄凉。
12 祂弯弓搭箭,把我当箭靶,

13 用箭袋中的箭射穿我的心脏。
14 我成了万人的笑柄,
他们终日唱歌讽刺我。
15 祂使我饱受苦楚,尝尽苦涩。

16 祂用石头打断我的牙齿,
把我践踏在尘土中。
17 我失去平安,
忘记了什么是快乐。
18 我说:“我精疲力竭,
对耶和华失去盼望。”

19 想起我的痛苦和漂泊流离,
就如苦艾和胆汁一样苦涩。
20 那情景萦绕心头,
使我心情沉重。
21 然而,我想起这事,
便有了盼望,

22 就是耶和华的慈爱永不终止,
祂的怜悯永无穷尽。
23 祂的慈爱和怜悯每天早晨都是新的,
祂的信实无比伟大!
24 我心里知道,
耶和华是我的产业,
我要仰望祂。

25 耶和华必赐福给那些等候和寻求祂的人,
26 因此,默然等候耶和华的拯救是美好的。
27 年轻时负轭受苦是有益的。

28 受耶和华管教时,
要默然独坐。
29 要谦卑,脸伏于地,
或许还有希望。
30 要任人打脸,甘心忍受凌辱。

31 因为主不会永远撇弃人。
32 主尽管使人忧伤,
祂依然怜悯人,
因为祂有无限的慈爱。
33 祂不愿使人忧伤、痛苦。

34 将囚犯踩在脚下,
35 在至高者面前冤枉他人,
36 审理案件时颠倒是非,
都是主所不容许的。

37 若非主许可,
谁的话可以兑现呢?
38 祸福岂不都出自至高者的口吗?
39 世人因自己的罪受罚,
又何必怨天尤人呢?

40 我们要省察自己的行为,
重新归向耶和华。
41 让我们举起双手,
诚心向天上的上帝祷告说:
42 “我们犯罪、背叛,
你没有赦免我们。

43 “你满怀愤怒地追赶我们,
毫不留情地杀戮我们。
44 你以密云遮盖自己,
以致祷告达不到你那里。
45 你使我们在列国中沦为废物、渣滓。

46 “我们的仇敌都幸灾乐祸。
47 我们充满恐惧,
面临陷阱、残害和毁灭。”
48 因同胞被毁灭,我泪流成河。

49 我的眼泪涌流不息,
50 直到耶和华从天上垂顾。
51 目睹城中妇女的遭遇,
我痛苦不已。

52 敌人无故地追捕我,
如同捕猎飞鸟。
53 他们把我推进坑里,
又用石头砸我。
54 水已经漫过我的头,
我想我要灭亡了。

55 耶和华啊,
我在深渊呼求你的名。
56 你曾垂听我的呼求,
求你现在不要掩耳不听我的祈祷。
57 我向你呼求的时候,
你曾走近我身旁,
安慰我说:“不用害怕!”

58 主啊,你为我申了冤,
救赎了我的性命。
59 耶和华啊,你已明察我的冤情,
求你为我主持公道。
60 你看见了他们怎样仇恨我、
谋害我。

61 你听见了他们怎样辱骂我、
谋害我。
62 他们整天诽谤我,图谋害我。
63 你看!他们或坐下或起来,
都唱歌讽刺我。

64 耶和华啊,
求你按照他们的所作所为报应他们!
65 求你使他们心里顽固,
好让你的咒诅落在他们身上!
66 求你发怒追赶他们,
从世上铲除他们!

'耶 利 米 哀 歌 3 ' not found for the version: Chinese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version.

Derde klaaglied – Jeremia's angst en verdriet in de gevangenis

Ik heb gezien wat het betekent als God straft.
Hij heeft het donker om mij heen gemaakt, zonder één enkel lichtpuntje.[a]
De Heer is immers tegen mij, elke dag opnieuw.
Ik ben vel over been, er zit geen vlees meer op mijn botten.
Hij bedreigt mij van alle kanten. Dag en nacht zit ik in de ellende.
Het is zó donker om mij heen, dat het lijkt alsof ik al dood en begraven ben.
Ik zie geen uitweg meer. Hij heeft me in de boeien gezet.
Ik schreeuw tot Hem om hulp, maar Hij luistert niet naar mij.
Ik kan geen kant meer op, want Hij verspert mij de weg.
10 Hij loert op mij als een beer, besluipt mij als een leeuw.

11 Ik kan niet aan Hem ontsnappen. Ik ben volkomen machteloos.
12 Hij spant zijn boog en richt zijn pijl op mij.
13 Zijn pijlen hebben mij doorboord.
14 Mijn volk zingt alle dagen spotliedjes over mij.
15 De Heer geeft me bittere kruiden te eten en bittere gal te drinken.
16 Hij laat me mijn tanden stukbijten op kiezelstenen en drukt mijn gezicht in het stof.
17 Ik weet niet meer wat geluk is. Al het goede ben ik vergeten.
18 Ik heb geen kracht meer. Alleen de Heer kan mij nog helpen.
19 Heer, denk alstublieft aan mijn ellende, aan mijn eenzaamheid!
20 Steeds als ik zo denk, word ik heel verdrietig.

21 Daarom probeer ik steeds weer te bedenken:
22 "Dankzij Gods eindeloze goedheid zijn we niet allemaal gestorven.
23 Elke morgen is Hij opnieuw goed voor ons! U bent zo trouw!"
24 Ik zeg bij mijzelf: "Ik ben van de Heer. Daarom zal Hij mij redden."
25 De Heer is goed voor de mensen die op Hem vertrouwen.
26 Het is goed om rustig te vertrouwen dat de Heer redt.
27 Het is goed voor een mens, als hij het in zijn jeugd moeilijk heeft.
28 Accepteer het rustig, want de Heer doet dat omdat het goed voor ons is.
29 Protesteer niet, maar blijf nederig. Misschien is er nog hoop.
30 Verdraag het dat je wordt geslagen, verdraag alle ellende.
31 Want de Heer laat ons niet voor altijd in de steek.
32 Eerst maakt Hij ons bedroefd.
Maar daarna is Hij weer goed voor ons, omdat Hij zoveel van ons houdt.

33 De Heer maakt ons niet verdrietig omdat Hij dat fijn vindt.
34 Over de hele wereld worden gevangenen vertrapt.
35 Overal is de rechtspraak oneerlijk.
36 Overal worden rechtszaken verdraaid. Maar de Heer ziet het!
37 Maar niemand kan iets doen, als de Heer het niet toestaat.
38 De Allerhoogste God bepaalt wat er gebeurt, kwaad of goed.
39 Waarom jammert een mens dan? Laat hij liever jammeren over zijn eigen ongehoorzaamheid!
40 Laten we zelf eens goed kijken hoe we leven.
Laten we weer gaan leven zoals de Heer het wil!
41 Laten we niet alleen onze handen, maar ook ons hart uitstrekken naar God in de hemel.
42 Laten we tegen Hem zeggen: 'We zijn U ongehoorzaam geweest.
We zijn koppig geweest en ongehoorzaam aan U. Daarom heeft U ons gestraft.
43 U bent woedend geworden en heeft ons onze verdiende straf gegeven.
U heeft ons zonder medelijden gedood.
44 U verbergt Zich voor ons en luistert niet meer naar onze gebeden.
45 U heeft ervoor gezorgd dat we helemaal niemand meer zijn.
Iedereen veracht ons.
46 Al onze vijanden bedreigen ons.'

47 Overal is angst en paniek, dood en vernietiging.
48 Mijn tranen stromen als beken, van verdriet over de verwoesting van Jeruzalem.
49 Dag en nacht staan mijn ogen vol tranen,
50 totdat de Heer mijn verdriet vanuit zijn hemel ziet.
51 Mijn ogen doen pijn van het huilen over mijn stad.
52 Mijn vijanden hebben mij opgejaagd als een vogel. Maar waarom?
53 Ze hebben me in een put gegooid en er een grote steen op gelegd.
54 Ik dacht dat ik er zou verdrinken, dat het mijn einde zou zijn.
55 Ik roep tot U, Heer, diep vanuit de put.

56 U hoort mij wel! Doe niet alsof U mij niet hoort roepen!
57 U bent bij mij als ik U om hulp roep. U zegt: 'Wees niet bang!'
58 U zal voor me opkomen, Heer. U zal mij redden.
59 U ziet hoe slecht ze me behandelen. Kom alstublieft voor mij op!
60 U ziet dat ze me haten. U weet dat ze me kwaad willen doen.
61 U hoort wat ze allemaal over mij zeggen.
62 U hoort welke plannen ze tegen mij smeden.
63 Zie toch wat ze doen: de hele dag lachen ze om me.
64 Heer, straf hen voor wat ze doen!
65 Maak hen doof voor uw waarschuwingen! Vervloek hen!
66 Straf hen en vernietig hen!

Footnotes

  1. Klaagliederen 3:2 Lees Jeremia 37 en 38.

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

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

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(J)
    he has weighed me down with chains.(K)
Even when I call out or cry for help,(L)
    he shuts out my prayer.(M)
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.

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.

I Am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.

17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:

19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.

35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,

36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.

37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?

38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.

41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.

43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.

45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.

50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.

51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.

52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.

54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.

55 I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.

56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.

58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.

61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me;

62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.

63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.

64 Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands.

65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord.