Lamentations 3
King James Version
3 I Am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.
4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.
12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.
15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:
19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.
29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.
35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,
36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.
43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.
44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.
45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.
46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.
48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.
50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.
51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.
52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.
54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
55 I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.
56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.
60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.
61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me;
62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.
64 Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands.
65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.
66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord.
Lamentations 3
Tree of Life Version
3 I am the strong man who has seen affliction
by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has driven me and made me walk
in darkness and not light.
3 Surely, He has turned His hand against me
again and again all day long.
4 He made my flesh and my skin
waste away, broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness and hardship.
6 He made me dwell in dark places
like those long dead.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot get out.
He made my chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry out and call for help,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He walled in my ways with hewn stone.
He twisted my paths.
10 He is a lurking bear to me,
a lion in hiding.
11 He turned aside my paths and tore me to pieces.
He has made me desolate.
12 He bent His bow and made me
the target for His arrow.
13 He shot into my kidneys
arrows from His quiver.
14 I have become a laughing stock
to all my people,
their song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness
and made me drink wormwood.
16 He broke my teeth with gravel.
He made me wallow in ashes.
17 My soul has been deprived of shalom,
I have forgotten goodness.
18 So I said, “My endurance has perished,
and my hope from Adonai.”
19 Remember my affliction
my homelessness, bitterness and gall.
20 Whenever I remember,
my soul is downcast within me.
Our Hope—His Faithfulness
21 This I recall to my heart—
therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the mercies of Adonai
we will not be consumed,
for His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning!
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “Adonai is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”
25 Adonai is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul that seeks Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of Adonai.
27 It is good for a man
to bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and be silent,
since He has laid it upon him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Intercession for Justice
30 Let him offer his cheek
to the one who strikes him.[a]
Let him have his fill of disgrace.
31 For the Lord will not reject forever.
32 For though He has caused grief,
yet He will have compassion
according to His abundant mercies.
33 For He does not afflict from His heart
or grieve the sons of men.
34 To crush under His foot
all the prisoners of the land,
35 to deprive a person of justice
before the face of Elyon,
36 to defraud a person in his lawsuit—
would the Lord not see?
37 Who speaks and it comes to pass
unless the Lord has decreed it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of Elyon
that both calamities and good things proceed?
39 Why should any living person complain
when punished for his sins?
40 Let us examine and test our ways,
and let us return to Adonai.
41 Let us lift up our heart and hands
to God in heaven.
42 We have transgressed and rebelled—
You have not pardoned.
43 You covered Yourself with anger and pursued us.
You have slain without pity.
44 You shrouded Yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can get through.
45 You have made us scum and refuse
in the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies opened their mouth
wide against us.
47 Panic and pitfall have befallen us,
devastation and destruction.
48 Streams of tears run down my eyes
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eye flows unceasingly,
without stopping,
50 until Adonai looks down
from heaven and sees.
51 My eye torments my soul
because of all the daughters of my city.
52 For no reason, my enemies
hunted me down like a bird.
53 They cut off my life in the Pit,
and cast stones upon me.
54 Waters flowed over my head.
I said, “I have been cut off!”
55 I called on Your Name, Adonai,
from the depths of the Pit.
56 You heard my voice,
“Do not close Your ears to my cry for relief.”
57 You drew near on the day I called to You.
You said, “Do not fear!”
58 Lord, You pled my soul’s case,
You redeemed my life.[b]
59 Adonai, You saw the wrong done to me;
judge my cause!
60 You have seen all their vengefulness,
all their schemes against me.
61 You heard their taunt, Adonai,
all their plots against me.
62 The lips of my assailants and their whispering
are against me all day long.
63 Look at them, sitting or standing,
they mock me in their song.
64 Pay them back what they deserve, Adonai,
according to the work of their hands.
65 Give them a distraught heart.
May Your curse be on them.
66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them
from under the heavens of Adonai.
Footnotes
Lamentations 3
New Living Translation
Hope in the Lord’s Faithfulness
3 I am the one who has seen the afflictions
that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
2 He has led me into darkness,
shutting out all light.
3 He has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged and surrounded me
with anguish and distress.
6 He has buried me in a dark place,
like those long dead.
7 He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
He has bound me in heavy chains.
8 And though I cry and shout,
he has shut out my prayers.
9 He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
he has made my road crooked.
10 He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
waiting to attack me.
11 He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
leaving me helpless and devastated.
12 He has drawn his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot his arrows
deep into my heart.
14 My own people laugh at me.
All day long they sing their mocking songs.
15 He has filled me with bitterness
and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.
16 He has made me chew on gravel.
He has rolled me in the dust.
17 Peace has been stripped away,
and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”
19 The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.[a]
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends![b]
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age
to the yoke of his discipline:
28 Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the Lord’s demands.
29 Let them lie face down in the dust,
for there may be hope at last.
30 Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
and accept the insults of their enemies.
31 For no one is abandoned
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
33 For he does not enjoy hurting people
or causing them sorrow.
34 If people crush underfoot
all the prisoners of the land,
35 if they deprive others of their rights
in defiance of the Most High,
36 if they twist justice in the courts—
doesn’t the Lord see all these things?
37 Who can command things to happen
without the Lord’s permission?
38 Does not the Most High
send both calamity and good?
39 Then why should we, mere humans, complain
when we are punished for our sins?
40 Instead, let us test and examine our ways.
Let us turn back to the Lord.
41 Let us lift our hearts and hands
to God in heaven and say,
42 “We have sinned and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven us.
43 “You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down,
and slaughtered us without mercy.
44 You have hidden yourself in a cloud
so our prayers cannot reach you.
45 You have discarded us as refuse and garbage
among the nations.
46 “All our enemies
have spoken out against us.
47 We are filled with fear,
for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”
48 Tears stream from my eyes
because of the destruction of my people!
49 My tears flow endlessly;
they will not stop
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.
51 My heart is breaking
over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.
52 My enemies, whom I have never harmed,
hunted me down like a bird.
53 They threw me into a pit
and dropped stones on me.
54 The water rose over my head,
and I cried out, “This is the end!”
55 But I called on your name, Lord,
from deep within the pit.
56 You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading!
Hear my cry for help!”
57 Yes, you came when I called;
you told me, “Do not fear.”
58 Lord, you have come to my defense;
you have redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord.
Be my judge, and prove me right.
60 You have seen the vengeful plots
my enemies have laid against me.
61 Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me.
You know all about the plans they have made.
62 My enemies whisper and mutter
as they plot against me all day long.
63 Look at them! Whether they sit or stand,
I am the object of their mocking songs.
64 Pay them back, Lord,
for all the evil they have done.
65 Give them hard and stubborn hearts,
and then let your curse fall on them!
66 Chase them down in your anger,
destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
