Lamentations 3:37-58

Common English Bible

³⁷ Who ever spoke and it happened if my Lord hadn’t commanded the same?
³⁸ From the mouth of the Most High evil things don’t come, but rather good!
³⁹ Why then does any living person complain; why should anyone complain about their sins?

⁴⁰ We must search and examine our ways; we must return to the Lord.
⁴¹ We should lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven.
⁴² We are the ones who did wrong; we rebelled. But you, God, have not forgiven.

⁴³ You wrapped yourself up in wrath and hunted us; you killed, showing no compassion.
⁴⁴ You wrapped yourself up in a cloud; prayers can’t make it through!
⁴⁵ You made us trash and garbage in front of all other people.

⁴⁶ All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
⁴⁷ Terror and trap have come upon us, catastrophe and collapse!
⁴⁸ Streams of water pour from my eyes because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

⁴⁹ My eyes flow and don’t stop. There is no relief
⁵⁰     until the Lord looks down from the heavens and notices.
⁵¹ My eyes hurt me^[a] because of what’s happened to my city’s daughters.

⁵² My enemies hunted me down like a bird, relentlessly, for no reason.
⁵³ They caught me alive in a pit and threw stones at me;
⁵⁴     water flowed over my head. I thought: I’m finished.

⁵⁵ I call on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit.
⁵⁶ Hear my voice. Don’t close your ear^[b] to my need for relief, to my cry for help.^[c]
57 Come near to me on the day I call to you. Say to me, “Don’t be afraid.”

⁵⁸ My Lord! Plead my desperate case;^[d] redeem my life.