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Lamentations 3-5
New King James Version
Lamentations 3-5
New King James Version
The Prophet’s Anguish and Hope
3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged (A)my flesh and my skin,
And (B)broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and [a]woe.
6 (C)He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 (D)He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even (E)when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 (F)He has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in [b]ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways and (G)torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent His bow
And (H)set me up as a target for the arrow.
13 He has caused (I)the [c]arrows of His quiver
To pierce my [d]loins.
14 I have become the (J)ridicule of all my people—
(K)Their taunting song all the day.
15 (L)He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth (M)with gravel,
And [e]covered me with ashes.
17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten [f]prosperity.
18 (N)And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
(O)The wormwood and the [g]gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And [h]sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have (P)hope.
22 (Q)Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions (R)fail not.
23 They are new (S)every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (T)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I (U)hope in Him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who (V)wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should (W)hope (X)and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
27 (Y)It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 (Z)Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 (AA)Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
30 (AB)Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.
31 (AC)For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
33 For (AD)He does not afflict [i]willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under one’s feet
All the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the justice due a man
Before the face of the Most High,
36 Or subvert a man in his cause—
(AE)The Lord does not approve.
37 Who is he (AF)who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That (AG)woe and well-being proceed?
39 (AH)Why should a living man [j]complain,
(AI)A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the Lord;
41 (AJ)Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
42 (AK)We have transgressed and rebelled;
You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through.
45 You have made us an (AL)offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 (AM)All our enemies
Have opened their mouths against us.
47 (AN)Fear and a snare have come upon us,
(AO)Desolation and destruction.
48 (AP)My eyes overflow with rivers of water
For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 (AQ)My eyes flow and do not cease,
Without interruption,
50 Till the Lord from heaven
(AR)Looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies (AS)without cause
Hunted me down like a bird.
53 They [k]silenced my life (AT)in the pit
And (AU)threw [l]stones at me.
54 (AV)The waters flowed over my head;
(AW)I said, “I am cut off!”
55 (AX)I called on Your name, O Lord,
From the lowest (AY)pit.
56 (AZ)You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.”
57 You (BA)drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, (BB)“Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have (BC)pleaded the case for my soul;
(BD)You have redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, You have seen [m]how I am wronged;
(BE)Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their (BF)schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O Lord,
All their schemes against me,
62 The lips of my enemies
And their whispering against me all the day.
63 Look at their (BG)sitting down and their rising up;
I am their taunting song.
64 (BH)Repay them, O Lord,
According to the work of their hands.
65 Give them [n]a veiled heart;
Your curse be upon them!
66 In Your anger,
Pursue and destroy them
(BI)From under the heavens of the (BJ)Lord.
The Degradation of Zion
4 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are [o]scattered
At the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
[p]Valuable as fine gold,
How they are [q]regarded (BK)as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
(BL)Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
(BM)The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
(BN)Embrace ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the (BO)sin of Sodom,
Which was (BP)overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
7 Her [r]Nazirites were [s]brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their [t]appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
(BQ)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these (BR)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the (BS)field.
10 The hands of the (BT)compassionate women
Have [u]cooked their (BU)own children;
They became (BV)food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
(BW)He has poured out His fierce anger.
(BX)He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could (BY)enter the gates of Jerusalem—
13 (BZ)Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
(CA)Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
14 They wandered blind in the streets;
(CB)They have defiled themselves with blood,
(CC)So that no one would touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them,
“Go away, (CD)unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”
16 The [v]face of the Lord scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
(CE)The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
17 Still (CF)our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
18 (CG)They [w]tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
(CH)Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (CI)swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The (CJ)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
(CK)Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of (CL)Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
(CM)The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 (CN)The punishment of your iniquity [x]is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
(CO)He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!
Prayer for Restoration
5 Remember, (CP)O Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold (CQ)our reproach!
2 (CR)Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like (CS)widows.
4 We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
5 (CT)They pursue at our [y]heels;
We labor and have no rest.
6 (CU)We have given our hand (CV)to the Egyptians
And the (CW)Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 (CX)Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They (CY)ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men (CZ)ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their (DA)music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into (DB)mourning.
16 (DC)The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint;
(DD)Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which is (DE)desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.
19 You, O Lord, (DF)remain forever;
(DG)Your throne from generation to generation.
20 (DH)Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 (DI)Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be [z]restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:5 hardship or weariness
- Lamentations 3:10 Lit. secret places
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. sons of
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. kidneys
- Lamentations 3:16 Lit. bent me down in
- Lamentations 3:17 Lit. good
- Lamentations 3:19 bitterness
- Lamentations 3:20 Lit. bowed down
- Lamentations 3:33 Lit. from His heart
- Lamentations 3:39 Or murmur
- Lamentations 3:53 LXX put to death
- Lamentations 3:53 Lit. a stone on
- Lamentations 3:59 Lit. my wrong
- Lamentations 3:65 A Jewish tradition sorrow of
- Lamentations 4:1 Lit. poured out
- Lamentations 4:2 Lit. Weighed against
- Lamentations 4:2 reckoned
- Lamentations 4:7 Or nobles
- Lamentations 4:7 Or purer
- Lamentations 4:7 Lit. polishing
- Lamentations 4:10 boiled
- Lamentations 4:16 Tg. anger
- Lamentations 4:18 Lit. hunted
- Lamentations 4:22 has been completed
- Lamentations 5:5 Lit. necks
- Lamentations 5:21 returned
Lamentations 3-5
New International Version
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)
Footnotes
- 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.
- Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.