Lamentations 3:39-4:5
English Standard Version
39 (A)Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us test and examine our ways,
(B)and return to the Lord!
41 (C)Let us lift up our hearts and hands
to God in heaven:
42 (D)“We have transgressed and (E)rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.
43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
(F)killing without pity;
44 (G)you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
45 (H)You have made us scum and garbage
among the peoples.
46 (I)“All our enemies
open their mouths against us;
47 (J)panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and (K)destruction;
48 (L)my eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 (M)“My eyes will flow without ceasing,
without respite,
50 (N)until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees;
51 my eyes cause me grief
at the fate of all the daughters of my city.
52 (O)“I have been hunted (P)like a bird
by those who were my enemies (Q)without cause;
53 (R)they flung me alive into the pit
(S)and cast stones on me;
54 (T)water closed over my head;
I said, (U)‘I am lost.’
55 (V)“I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
56 (W)you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
your ear to my cry for help!’
57 (X)You came near when I called on you;
you said, (Y)‘Do not fear!’
58 “You have (Z)taken up my cause, (AA)O Lord;
you have (AB)redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong done to me, (AC)O Lord;
judge my cause.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
all (AD)their plots against me.
61 (AE)“You have heard their taunts, O Lord,
all (AF)their plots against me.
62 The lips and thoughts (AG)of my assailants
are against me all the day long.
63 (AH)Behold their sitting and their rising;
(AI)I am the object of their taunts.
64 (AJ)“You will repay them,[a] O Lord,
(AK)according to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them[b] dullness of heart;
your curse will be[c] on them.
66 You will pursue them[d] in anger and (AL)destroy them
from under (AM)your heavens, O Lord.”[e]
The Holy Stones Lie Scattered
4 (AN)How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
(AO)at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in (AP)fine gold,
how they are regarded as (AQ)earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing infant (AR)sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
(AS)the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
(AT)those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:64 Or Repay them
- Lamentations 3:65 Or Give them
- Lamentations 3:65 Or place your curse
- Lamentations 3:66 Or Pursue them
- Lamentations 3:66 Syriac (compare Septuagint, Vulgate); Hebrew the heavens of the Lord
Lamentations 3:39-4:5
New International Version
39 Why should the living complain
when punished for their sins?(A)
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,(B)
and let us return to the Lord.(C)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven,(D) and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled(E)
and you have not forgiven.(F)
43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued(G) us;
you have slain without pity.(H)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud(I)
so that no prayer(J) can get through.(K)
45 You have made us scum(L) and refuse
among the nations.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
wide(M) against us.(N)
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,(O)
ruin and destruction.(P)”
48 Streams of tears(Q) flow from my eyes(R)
because my people are destroyed.(S)
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
without relief,(T)
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.(U)
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.(V)
53 They tried to end my life in a pit(W)
and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,(X)
and I thought I was about to perish.(Y)
55 I called on your name, Lord,
from the depths(Z) of the pit.(AA)
56 You heard my plea:(AB) “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near(AC) when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”(AD)
58 You, Lord, took up my case;(AE)
you redeemed my life.(AF)
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.(AG)
Uphold my cause!(AH)
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their plots against me.(AI)
61 Lord, you have heard their insults,(AJ)
all their plots against me—
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter
against me all day long.(AK)
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
they mock me in their songs.(AL)
64 Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
for what their hands have done.(AM)
65 Put a veil over their hearts,(AN)
and may your curse be on them!
66 Pursue(AO) them in anger and destroy them
from under the heavens of the Lord.
4 [a]How the gold has lost its luster,
the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
at every street corner.(AP)
2 How the precious children of Zion,(AQ)
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.(AR)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
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