Lamentations 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Steadfast Love Endures
3 I am one who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s[a] wrath;(A)
2 he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
3 against me alone he turns his hand,
again and again, all day long.(B)
4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
he has broken my bones;(C)
5 he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
6 he has made me sit in darkness
like the dead of long ago.(D)
7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has put heavy chains on me;(E)
8 though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;(F)
9 he has blocked my ways with hewn stones;
he has made my paths crooked.
10 He is a bear lying in wait for me,
a lion in hiding;(G)
11 he led me off my way and tore me to pieces;
he has made me desolate;
12 he bent his bow and set me
as a mark for his arrow.(H)
13 He shot into my vitals
the arrows of his quiver;
14 I have become the laughingstock of all my people,
the object of their taunt songs all day long.(I)
15 He has filled me with bitterness;
he has sated me with wormwood.
16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel;
he has made me cower in ashes;
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
18 so I say, “Gone is my glory
and all that I had hoped for from the Lord.”
19 The thought of my affliction and my homelessness
is wormwood and gall!(J)
20 My soul continually thinks of it
and is bowed down within me.(K)
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,[b]
his mercies never come to an end;(L)
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.(M)
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”(N)
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.(O)
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.(P)
27 It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,(Q)
28 to sit alone in silence
when the Lord[c] has imposed it,(R)
29 to put one’s mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
30 to give one’s cheek to the smiter
and be filled with insults.(S)
31 For the Lord will not
reject forever.(T)
32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;(U)
33 for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.(V)
34 When all the prisoners of the land
are crushed under foot,
35 when justice is perverted
in the presence of the Most High,(W)
36 when one’s case is subverted—
does the Lord not see it?(X)
37 Who can command and have it done,
if the Lord has not ordained it?(Y)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that evil and good come?(Z)
39 Why should any who draw breath complain
about the punishment of their sins?(AA)
40 Let us test and examine our ways
and return to the Lord.(AB)
41 Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands
to God in heaven.(AC)
42 We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.(AD)
43 You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
killing without pity;(AE)
44 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us filth and rubbish
among the peoples.(AF)
46 All our enemies
have opened their mouths against us;(AG)
47 panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and destruction.(AH)
48 My eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of my people.[d]
49 My eyes will flow without ceasing,
without respite,(AI)
50 until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees.(AJ)
51 My eyes cause me grief
at the fate of all the young women in my city.
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
have hunted me like a bird;(AK)
53 they flung me alive into a pit
and hurled stones on me;(AL)
54 water closed over my head;
I said, “I am lost.”(AM)
55 I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;(AN)
56 you heard my plea, “Do not close your ear
to my cry for help, but give me relief!”(AO)
57 You came near when I called on you;
you said, “Do not fear!”(AP)
58 You have taken up my cause, O Lord;
you have redeemed my life.(AQ)
59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;
judge my cause.
60 You have seen all their malice,
all their plots against me.(AR)
61 You have heard their taunts, O Lord,
all their plots against me.
62 The whispers and murmurs of my assailants
are against me all day long.
63 Whether they sit or rise—see,
I am the object of their taunt songs.
64 Pay them back for their deeds, O Lord,
according to the work of their hands!
65 Give them anguish of heart;
your curse be on them!
66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them
from under the Lord’s heavens.(AS)
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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