Lamentations 3:1-18

Evangelical Heritage Version

² He drove me off and brought me into darkness instead of light.
³ See how he turns against me. He turns his hand against me all day long.
⁴ He wore out my flesh and my skin. He shattered my bones.
⁵ He built siege works against me. He surrounded me with bitterness
    and hardship.
⁶ He made me dwell in dark places, like people who died long ago.
⁷ He walled me in, so I cannot leave. He made my chains heavy.
⁸ Even when I call and cry out, he shuts out my prayer.
⁹ He has blocked my way with a stone wall. He has made my paths crooked.
¹⁰ He is about to ambush me like a bear, like a lion lying in wait.
¹¹ He diverted me off my path and tore me to pieces. He made
    me desolate.
¹² He bent his bow and set me up as a target for the arrow.
¹³ He shot the arrows from his quiver into my heart.^[b]
14 I was a laughingstock to all my people, the target of their song
    all day long.
¹⁵ He has made me eat bitter food and drink my fill of wormwood.
¹⁶ He broke my teeth with gravel. He pushed me down into^[c] the ashes.
¹⁷ You deprived my soul of peace. I have forgotten what well-being^[d] is.
¹⁸ I said, “My endurance has vanished, along with my hope from
    the Lord.”