Lamentations 3
Easy-to-Read Version
The Meaning of Suffering
3 I am a man who has seen much trouble.
God beat us with a stick, and I saw it happen.
2 He led and brought me
into darkness, not light.
3 He turned his hand against me.
He did this again and again, all day.
4 He wore out my flesh and skin.
He broke my bones.
5 He built up bitterness and trouble against me.
He surrounded me with bitterness and trouble.
6 He put me in the dark,
like someone who died long ago.
7 He shut me in, so I could not get out.
He put heavy chains on me.
8 Even when I cry out and ask for help,
he does not listen to my prayer.
9 He has blocked up my path with stones.
He has made my path crooked.
10 He is like a bear about to attack me,
like a lion that is in a hiding place.
11 He led me off my path.
He tore me to pieces and ruined me.
12 He made his bow ready.
He made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot me in the stomach
with his arrows.
14 I have become a joke to all my people.
All day long they sing songs about me and make fun of me.
15 He gave me this poison to drink.
He filled me with this bitter drink.
16 He pushed my teeth into rocky ground.
He pushed me into the dirt.
17 I thought I would never have peace again.
I forgot about good things.
18 I said to myself, “I no longer have any hope
that the Lord will help me.”
19 Remember, I am very sad,
and I have no home.
Remember the bitter poison that you gave me.
20 I remember well all my troubles,
and I am very sad.
21 But then I think about this,
and I have hope:
22 We are still alive because
the Lord’s faithful love never ends.
23 Every morning he shows it in new ways!
You are so very true and loyal!
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my God,
and I trust him.”[a]
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him.
He is good to those who look for him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the Lord to save them.
27 It is good for a man to wear his yoke
from the time he is young.
28 He should sit alone and be quiet
when the Lord puts his yoke on him.
29 He should bow down to the Lord.
Maybe there is still hope.
30 He should turn his cheek to the one who hits him
and let people insult him.
31 He should remember that
the Lord does not reject people forever.
32 When he punishes, he also has mercy.
He has mercy because of his great love and kindness.
33 He does not enjoy causing people pain.
He does not like to make anyone unhappy.
34 He does not like any prisoner on earth
to be trampled down.
35 He does not like anyone to be unfair to another person.
Some people will do such things right in front of God Most High.
36 The Lord does not like anyone to cheat another person.
He does not like any of these things.
37 No one can say something and make it happen,
unless the Lord orders it.
38 God Most High commands
both good and bad things to happen.
39 No one alive can complain
when he punishes them for their sins.
40 Let us check and see what we have done.
Then let us turn back to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to the God of heaven.
42 Let us say to him, “We have sinned and have been stubborn.
Because of this, you have not forgiven us.
43 You wrapped yourself with anger.
You chased us.
You killed us without mercy!
44 You wrapped yourself in a cloud
so that no prayer could get through.
45 You made us like garbage and dirt
to the other nations.
46 All of our enemies
speak angrily against us.
47 We have been frightened.
We have fallen into a pit.
We have been badly hurt.
We have been broken.”
48 My eyes flow with streams of tears.
I cry because of the destruction of my people.
49 My eyes will flow without stopping.
I will keep on crying.
50 I will continue to cry
until you look down and see us, Lord!
I will continue to cry
until you see us from heaven.
51 My eyes make me sad, when I see
what happened to the young women in my city.
52 For no reason,
my enemies hunted me like a bird.
53 They threw me alive into a pit
and then threw stones at me.
54 Water came up over my head.
I said to myself, “I am finished.”
55 Lord, I called your name
from the bottom of the pit.
56 You heard my voice.
You didn’t close your ears.
You didn’t refuse to rescue me.
57 You came to me on the day that I called out to you.
You said to me, “Don’t be afraid.”
58 You defended me
and brought me back to life.
59 Lord, you have seen my trouble.
Now judge my case for me.
60 You have seen how my enemies have hurt me.
You have seen all the evil plans that they made against me.
61 You heard them insult me, Lord.
You have heard all the evil plans that they made against me.
62 The words and the thoughts of my enemies
are against me all the time—
63 when they sit down and when they stand up.
Look how they make fun of me!
64 Give them back what they deserve, Lord.
Pay them back for what they have done.
65 Make them stubborn
and then curse them.
66 Chase them in anger and destroy them.
Wipe them off the face of the earth, Lord!
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:24 The Lord … him Or “The Lord is my portion and I trust him.”
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
New King James Version
The Prophet’s Anguish and Hope
3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged (A)my flesh and my skin,
And (B)broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and [a]woe.
6 (C)He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 (D)He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even (E)when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 (F)He has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in [b]ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways and (G)torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent His bow
And (H)set me up as a target for the arrow.
13 He has caused (I)the [c]arrows of His quiver
To pierce my [d]loins.
14 I have become the (J)ridicule of all my people—
(K)Their taunting song all the day.
15 (L)He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth (M)with gravel,
And [e]covered me with ashes.
17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten [f]prosperity.
18 (N)And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
(O)The wormwood and the [g]gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And [h]sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have (P)hope.
22 (Q)Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions (R)fail not.
23 They are new (S)every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (T)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I (U)hope in Him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who (V)wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should (W)hope (X)and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
27 (Y)It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 (Z)Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 (AA)Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
30 (AB)Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.
31 (AC)For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
33 For (AD)He does not afflict [i]willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under one’s feet
All the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the justice due a man
Before the face of the Most High,
36 Or subvert a man in his cause—
(AE)The Lord does not approve.
37 Who is he (AF)who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That (AG)woe and well-being proceed?
39 (AH)Why should a living man [j]complain,
(AI)A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the Lord;
41 (AJ)Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
42 (AK)We have transgressed and rebelled;
You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through.
45 You have made us an (AL)offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 (AM)All our enemies
Have opened their mouths against us.
47 (AN)Fear and a snare have come upon us,
(AO)Desolation and destruction.
48 (AP)My eyes overflow with rivers of water
For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 (AQ)My eyes flow and do not cease,
Without interruption,
50 Till the Lord from heaven
(AR)Looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies (AS)without cause
Hunted me down like a bird.
53 They [k]silenced my life (AT)in the pit
And (AU)threw [l]stones at me.
54 (AV)The waters flowed over my head;
(AW)I said, “I am cut off!”
55 (AX)I called on Your name, O Lord,
From the lowest (AY)pit.
56 (AZ)You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.”
57 You (BA)drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, (BB)“Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have (BC)pleaded the case for my soul;
(BD)You have redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, You have seen [m]how I am wronged;
(BE)Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their (BF)schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O Lord,
All their schemes against me,
62 The lips of my enemies
And their whispering against me all the day.
63 Look at their (BG)sitting down and their rising up;
I am their taunting song.
64 (BH)Repay them, O Lord,
According to the work of their hands.
65 Give them [n]a veiled heart;
Your curse be upon them!
66 In Your anger,
Pursue and destroy them
(BI)From under the heavens of the (BJ)Lord.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:5 hardship or weariness
- Lamentations 3:10 Lit. secret places
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. sons of
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. kidneys
- Lamentations 3:16 Lit. bent me down in
- Lamentations 3:17 Lit. good
- Lamentations 3:19 bitterness
- Lamentations 3:20 Lit. bowed down
- Lamentations 3:33 Lit. from His heart
- Lamentations 3:39 Or murmur
- Lamentations 3:53 LXX put to death
- Lamentations 3:53 Lit. a stone on
- Lamentations 3:59 Lit. my wrong
- Lamentations 3:65 A Jewish tradition sorrow of
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.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
