Lamentations 3:34-66
New Living Translation
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.
Lamentations 3:34-66
New American Standard Bible
34 To crush under [a]one’s feet
All the prisoners of the [b]land,
35 To [c]deprive a man of (A)justice
In the presence of the Most High,
36 To [d](B)defraud someone in his lawsuit—
Of these things the Lord does not [e]approve.
37 Who is [f]there who speaks and it (C)comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That [g](D)both adversity and good proceed?
39 Of what can any living [h]mortal, or any man,
(E)Complain [i]in view of his sins?
40 Let’s (F)examine and search out our ways,
And let’s return to the Lord.
41 We (G)raise our heart [j]and hands
Toward God in heaven;
42 We have (H)done wrong and rebelled;
You have (I)not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with (J)anger
And (K)pursued us;
You have slain and (L)have not spared.
44 You have (M)veiled Yourself with a cloud
So that (N)no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us mere (O)refuse and rubbish
In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies have (P)opened their mouths against us.
47 (Q)Panic and pitfall have come upon us,
Devastation and destruction;
48 My [k](R)eyes run down with streams of water
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes flow (S)unceasingly,
Without stopping,
50 Until the Lord (T)looks down
And sees from heaven.
51 My eyes bring pain to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies (U)without reason
Hunted me down (V)like a bird;
53 They have silenced [l]me (W)in the pit
And have [m](X)thrown stones on me.
54 Waters flowed (Y)over my head;
I said, “I am [n]cut off!”
55 I (Z)called on Your name, Lord,
Out of the lowest pit.
56 You have (AA)heard my voice,
“(AB)Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief,
From my cry for help.”
57 You (AC)came near on the day I called to You;
You said, “(AD)Do not fear!”
58 Lord, You (AE)have pleaded my soul’s cause;
You have (AF)redeemed my life.
59 Lord, You have (AG)seen my oppression;
(AH)Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their (AI)schemes against me.
61 You have heard their (AJ)reproach, Lord,
All their schemes against me.
62 The (AK)lips of my assailants and their talk
Are against me all day long.
63 Look at their [o](AL)sitting and their rising;
(AM)I am their mocking song.
64 You will (AN)repay them, Lord,
In accordance with the work of their hands.
65 You will give them [p](AO)shamelessness of heart,
Your curse will be on them.
66 You will (AP)pursue them in anger and eliminate them
From under the (AQ)heavens of the Lord!
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:34 Lit his
- Lamentations 3:34 Or earth
- Lamentations 3:35 Or turn aside a man’s case
- Lamentations 3:36 Lit bend
- Lamentations 3:36 Lit see
- Lamentations 3:37 Lit this
- Lamentations 3:38 Lit the evil things and the good
- Lamentations 3:39 Or human being
- Lamentations 3:39 Or on the basis of
- Lamentations 3:41 Lit toward our
- Lamentations 3:48 Lit eye goes down
- Lamentations 3:53 Lit my life
- Lamentations 3:53 Or thrown a stone
- Lamentations 3:54 Or destroyed
- Lamentations 3:63 I.e., daily activities
- Lamentations 3:65 Or insanity
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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
