Lamentations 3:19-66

Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹⁹ Remember^[a] my affliction and my homelessness,^(A)
the wormwood and the poison.^(B)
20 I continually remember them
and have become depressed.^[b](C)
21 Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:^(D)

²² Because of the Lord’s faithful love^(E)
we do not perish,^[c]
for His mercies never end.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!^(F)
24 I say: The Lord is my portion,^(G)
therefore I will put my hope in Him.

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait^(H) for Him,
to the person who seeks Him.
²⁶ It is good to wait quietly^(I)
for deliverance from the Lord.^(J)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke^(K)
while he is still young.

²⁸ Let him sit alone and be silent,^(L)
for God has disciplined him.
²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust^(M)—
perhaps there is still hope.
³⁰ Let him offer his cheek
to the one who would strike him;^(N)
let him be filled with shame.

³¹ For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
³² Even if He causes suffering,
He will show compassion
according to His abundant, faithful love.^(O)
33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction^(P)
or suffering on mankind.

³⁴ Crushing all the prisoners of the land^[d]
beneath one’s feet,
³⁵ denying justice to a man^(Q)
in the presence of the Most High,
³⁶ or suppressing a person’s lawsuit^(R)—
the Lord does not approve of these things.

³⁷ Who is there who speaks and it happens,
unless the Lord has ordained it?^(S)
38 Do not both adversity and good
come from the mouth of the Most High?^(T)
39 Why should any living person complain,
any man, because of the punishment for his sins?

⁴⁰ Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to the Lord.^(U)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands^(V)
to God in heaven:
⁴² We have sinned and rebelled;
You have not forgiven.^(W)

⁴³ You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;
You have killed without compassion.^(X)
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.^(Y)
45 You have made us disgusting filth
among the peoples.^(Z)

⁴⁶ All our enemies
open their mouths against us.^(AA)
47 We have experienced panic and pitfall,^(AB)
devastation and destruction.
⁴⁸ My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.

⁴⁹ My eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,^(AC)
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.^(AD)
51 My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.

⁵² For no apparent reason, my enemies^[e]
hunted me like a bird.^(AE)
53 They dropped me alive into^[f] a pit^(AF)
and threw stones at me.
⁵⁴ Water flooded over my head,^(AG)
and I thought: I’m going to die!^(AH)

⁵⁵ I called on Your name, Yahweh,
from the depths of the Pit.^(AI)
56 You hear my plea:
Do not ignore my cry for relief.
⁵⁷ You come near when I call on You;
You say: “Do not be afraid.”

⁵⁸ You defend my cause, Lord;^(AJ)
You redeem my life.^(AK)
59 Lord, You see the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
⁶⁰ You see all their malice,
all their plots against me.^(AL)

⁶¹ Lord, You hear their insults,^(AM)
all their plots against me.
⁶² The slander^[g] and murmuring of my opponents
attack me all day long.
⁶³ When they sit and when they rise, look,
I am mocked by their songs.^(AN)

⁶⁴ You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
according to the work of their hands.^(AO)
65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish.^[h](AP)
May Your curse be on them!
⁶⁶ You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
under Your heavens.^[i][j](AQ)