Lamentations 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Hope through God’s Mercy
א Alef
3 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath.
2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.(A)
3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand
against me all day long.
ב Bet
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin;(B)
He has shattered my bones.(C)
5 He has laid siege against me,(D)
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.(E)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.(F)
ג Gimel
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(G)
He has weighed me down with chains.
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help,
He rejects my prayer.(H)
9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones;(I)
He has made my paths crooked.(J)
ד Dalet
10 He is[a] a bear waiting in ambush,
a lion in hiding.(K)
11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
He left me desolate.
12 He strung His bow(L)
and set me as the target for His arrow.
ה He
13 He pierced my kidneys
with His arrows.(M)
14 I am a laughingstock(N) to all my people,[b]
mocked by their songs(O) all day long.
15 He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.(P)
ו Vav
16 He ground my teeth on gravel(Q)
and made me cower[c] in the dust.
17 My soul has been deprived[d] of peace;(R)
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 Then I thought: My future[e] is lost,
as well as my hope from the Lord.
ז Zayin
19 Remember[f] my affliction and my homelessness,(S)
the wormwood and the poison.(T)
20 I continually remember them
and have become depressed.[g](U)
21 Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:(V)
ח Khet
22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love(W)
we do not perish,[h]
for His mercies never end.
23 They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!(X)
24 I say: The Lord is my portion,(Y)
therefore I will put my hope in Him.
ט Tet
25 The Lord is good to those who wait(Z) for Him,
to the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly(AA)
for deliverance from the Lord.(AB)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke(AC)
while he is still young.
י Yod
28 Let him sit alone and be silent,(AD)
for God has disciplined him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust(AE)—
perhaps there is still hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek
to the one who would strike him;(AF)
let him be filled with shame.
כ Kaf
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.(AG)
33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction(AH)
or suffering on mankind.
ל Lamed
34 Crushing all the prisoners of the land[i]
beneath one’s feet,
35 denying justice to a man(AI)
in the presence of the Most High,
36 or suppressing a person’s lawsuit(AJ)—
the Lord does not approve of these things.
מ Mem
37 Who is there who speaks and it happens,
unless the Lord has ordained it?(AK)
38 Do not both adversity and good
come from the mouth of the Most High?(AL)
39 Why should any living person complain,
any man, because of the punishment for his sins?
נ Nun
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to the Lord.(AM)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands(AN)
to God in heaven:
42 We have sinned and rebelled;
You have not forgiven.(AO)
ס Samek
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;
You have killed without compassion.(AP)
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.(AQ)
45 You have made us disgusting filth
among the peoples.(AR)
פ Pe
46 All our enemies
open their mouths against us.(AS)
47 We have experienced panic and pitfall,(AT)
devastation and destruction.
48 My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.
ע Ayin
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,(AU)
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.(AV)
51 My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.
צ Tsade
52 For no apparent reason, my enemies[j]
hunted me like a bird.(AW)
53 They dropped me alive into[k] a pit(AX)
and threw stones at me.
54 Water flooded over my head,(AY)
and I thought: I’m going to die!(AZ)
ק Qof
55 I called on Your name, Yahweh,
from the depths of the Pit.(BA)
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.”
ר Resh
58 You defend my cause, Lord;(BB)
You redeem my life.(BC)
59 Lord, You see the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
60 You see all their malice,
all their plots against me.(BD)
שׂ Sin/ שׁ Shin
61 Lord, You hear their insults,(BE)
all their plots against me.
62 The slander[l] 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.(BF)
ת Tav
64 You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
according to the work of their hands.(BG)
65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish.[m](BH)
May Your curse be on them!
66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
under Your heavens.[n][o](BI)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:10 Lit is to me
- Lamentations 3:14 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss, Syr read all peoples
- Lamentations 3:16 Or and trampled me
- Lamentations 3:17 Syr, Vg; MT reads You deprived my soul
- Lamentations 3:18 Or splendor
- Lamentations 3:19 Or I remember
- Lamentations 3:20 Ancient Jewish tradition reads and You cause me to collapse
- Lamentations 3:22 One Hb mss, Syr, Tg read The Lord’s faithful love, indeed, does not perish
- Lamentations 3:34 Or earth
- Lamentations 3:52 Or Those who were my enemies for no reason
- Lamentations 3:53 Or They ended my life in; Hb obscure
- Lamentations 3:62 Lit lips
- Lamentations 3:65 Or them an obstinate heart; Hb obscure
- Lamentations 3:66 LXX, Syr, Vg read heavens, Lord
- Lamentations 3:66 Lit under the Lord’s heavens
Lamentations 3
International Standard Version
The Lord’s Purposes for Affliction
3 I am a man familiar with affliction—
under the rod of God’s[a] anger.
2 He has led me—brought me
into darkness, not into light.
3 He truly turned his hand against me,
again and again, all day long.
4 He made my flesh and skin prematurely old;
he broke my bones.
5 He laid siege against me,
surrounding me with bitterness and suffering.
6 He has forced me to live in darkness,
like those who are long dead.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he placed heavy chains on me.
8 Indeed, when I cry out, calling for help,
he shuts out my prayer.
9 He impeded my way with blocks of stone,
making my paths uneven.
10 He is like[b] a bear that lies in wait for me,
a lion in hiding.
11 He forced me off my path,
tearing me to pieces and making me desolate.
12 He bent his bow,
aiming at me with his arrow.
13 He caused his war arrows[c]
to pierce my vital organs.
14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people,
the object of their taunts throughout the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
making me drink wormwood.
16 He broke my teeth on gravel,
covering me with dust.
17 You have removed peace from my life;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.[d]
18 So I say, “My strength is gone
as is my hope in the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and homelessness—
wormwood and gall!
20 My mind keeps reflecting on it,
and I become depressed.[e]
21 This is what comes to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s gracious love we are not consumed,
since his compassions never end.
23 They are new every morning—
great is your faithfulness!
24 “The Lord is all I have,”[f] says my soul,
“Therefore I will trust in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who searches for him.
26 It is good to hope and wait patiently
for the Lord’s salvation.
27 It is good when a young man carries the yoke
of discipline[g] in his youth.
28 He is to sit apart and remain silent,
because the Lord[h] has laid it upon him.
29 Let him fall face down in the dust,
so there may yet be hope.
30 He will endure being slapped in the face,
bringing him public disgrace.
31 Indeed, the Lord will not always
reject us[i]—
32 though he causes grief,
his compassion abounds according to his gracious love.
33 For he does not deliberately hurt
or grieve human beings.
34 When any of the prisoners of the earth
are crushed underfoot,
35 when a person’s rights are perverted
in defiance of the Most High.
36 When a man is thwarted in his appeal,
does the Lord condone[j] it?
37 Who can command, and it happens,
without the Lord having ordered it?
38 Do not both good and evil things proceed
from the mouth of the Most High?
39 Why should anyone living complain,
any mortal, about being punished for sin?
40 Let us examine our lifestyles,
putting them to the test,
and turn back to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts
and our hands
to God in heaven.
42 As for us, we have sinned and rebelled;
but you have not pardoned us.[k]
43 Clothing yourself with anger, you pursued us.
You killed without pity,
44 You covered yourself with a cloud
that prayer cannot pierce.
45 You have reduced us to scum and garbage
among the nations.
46 All our enemies
jeer at us with gaping mouths.
47 Panic and pitfalls beset us,
along with devastation and ruin.
48 My eyes run with rivers of tears
over the destruction of my cherished[l] people.
49 My tears pour[m] down ceaselessly;
I am far from relief
50 until the Lord bends down
to see from heaven.
51 What I see[n] grieves my soul
because of all the young women[o] of my city.
52 My enemies hunted me like a bird,
viciously and without justification.
53 They dumped me alive into a pit,
sealing me in with stone.[p]
54 Water closed over my head,
and I said, “I’m a dead man.”[q]
55 I called on your name, Lord,
from the depths of the Pit,[r]
56 You heard my voice—
don’t close your ear to my sighs and cries.[s]
57 You drew near when I called out to you.
You said, “Stop being afraid”
58 Lord, you have defended my cause;
you have redeemed my life.
59 Lord, you observed how I have been wronged;
now make your ruling in my case.
60 You examined their plans for vengeance,
all of their plots against me.
61 Lord, you listened to their insults—
all their plots against me,
62 the whisperings of my opponents,
their scheming against me all day long.
63 Watch! Whether they sit down or stand up,
they mock me with their songs.
64 Pay them back, Lord,
according to their actions.
65 Give them an anguished heart;
may your curse be upon them!
66 Pursue them in your anger
and destroy them from under the Lord’s heaven.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:1 Lit. his
- Lamentations 3:10 The Heb. lacks like
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. caused the sons of his arrows
- Lamentations 3:17 Lit. forgotten prosperity
- Lamentations 3:20 Lit. and sinks within me
- Lamentations 3:24 Lit. is my portion
- Lamentations 3:27 The Heb. lacks of discipline
- Lamentations 3:28 Lit. because he
- Lamentations 3:31 The Heb. lacks us
- Lamentations 3:36 Lit. see
- Lamentations 3:42 The Heb. lacks us
- Lamentations 3:48 Lit. of the daughter of
- Lamentations 3:49 Lit. My eye pours
- Lamentations 3:51 Lit. My eye
- Lamentations 3:51 Lit. the daughters
- Lamentations 3:53 Lit. pit, casting a stone at me
- Lamentations 3:54 Lit. “I’m cut off.”
- Lamentations 3:55 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
- Lamentations 3:56 Lit. my relief, to my cry
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