Lamentations 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
The Voice of a Suffering Individual[a]
1 I am one who has known affliction
under the rod of God’s anger,(A)
2 One whom he has driven and forced to walk
in darkness, not in light;
3 Against me alone he turns his hand—
again and again all day long.
4 He has worn away my flesh and my skin,
he has broken my bones;(B)
5 He has besieged me all around
with poverty and hardship;
6 He has left me to dwell in dark places
like those long dead.(C)
7 He has hemmed me in with no escape,
weighed me down with chains;
8 Even when I cry for help,
he stops my prayer;(D)
9 He has hemmed in my ways with fitted stones,
and made my paths crooked.
10 He has been a bear lying in wait for me,
a lion in hiding!(E)
11 He turned me aside and tore me apart,
leaving me ravaged.(F)
12 He bent his bow, and set me up
as a target for his arrow.(G)
13 He pierced my kidneys
with shafts from his quiver.(H)
14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people,
their taunt all day long;(I)
15 He has sated me with bitterness,
filled me with wormwood.(J)
16 He has made me eat gravel,
trampled me into the dust;
17 My life is deprived of peace,
I have forgotten what happiness is;
18 My enduring hope, I said,
has perished before the Lord.
19 The thought of my wretched homelessness
is wormwood and poison;
20 Remembering it over and over,
my soul is downcast.
21 But this I will call to mind;[b]
therefore I will hope:
22 The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,
his compassion is not spent;(K)
23 They are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!
24 The Lord is my portion, I tell myself,
therefore I will hope in him.(L)
25 The Lord is good to those who trust in him,
to the one that seeks him;(M)
26 It is good to hope in silence
for the Lord’s deliverance.
27 It is good for a person, when young,
to bear the yoke,
28 To sit alone and in silence,
when its weight lies heavy,
29 To put one’s mouth in the dust—[c]
there may yet be hope—
30 To offer one’s cheek to be struck,
to be filled with disgrace.(N)
31 For the Lord does not
reject forever;(O)
32 Though he brings grief, he takes pity,
according to the abundance of his mercy;(P)
33 He does not willingly afflict
or bring grief to human beings.(Q)
34 That someone tramples underfoot
all the prisoners in the land,
35 Or denies justice to anyone
in the very sight of the Most High,
36 Or subverts a person’s lawsuit—
does the Lord not see?
37 Who speaks so that it comes to pass,
unless the Lord commands it?
38 Is it not at the word of the Most High
that both good and bad take place?(R)
39 What should the living complain about?
about their sins!
40 [d]Let us search and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord!(S)
41 Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands
toward God in heaven!
42 We have rebelled and been obstinate;
you have not forgiven us.
43 You wrapped yourself in wrath and pursued us,
killing without pity;(T)
44 You wrapped yourself in a cloud,
which no prayer could pierce.
45 You have made us filth and rubbish
among the peoples.(U)
46 They have opened their mouths against us,
all our enemies;
47 Panic and the pit have been our lot,
desolation and destruction;(V)
48 [e]My eyes stream with tears over the destruction
of the daughter of my people.(W)
49 My eyes will flow without ceasing,
without rest,
50 Until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees.
51 I am tormented by the sight
of all the daughters of my city.
52 Without cause, my enemies snared me
as though I were a bird;
53 They tried to end my life in the pit,
pelting me with stones.
54 The waters flowed over my head:
and I said, “I am lost!”(X)
55 I have called upon your name, O Lord,(Y)
from the bottom of the pit;
56 You heard me call, “Do not let your ear be deaf
to my cry for help.”
57 You drew near on the day I called you;
you said, “Do not fear!”
58 You pleaded my case, Lord,
you redeemed my life.
59 You see, Lord, how I am wronged;
do me justice!(Z)
60 You see all their vindictiveness,
all their plots against me.
61 You hear their reproach, Lord,
all their plots against me,
62 The whispered murmurings of my adversaries,
against me all day long;
63 Look! Whether they sit or stand,
I am the butt of their taunt.
64 Give them what they deserve, Lord,
according to their deeds;
65 Give them hardness of heart;
your curse be upon them;(AA)
66 Pursue them in wrath and destroy them
from under the Lord’s heaven!
Footnotes
- 3:1–66 This chapter is focused less on the destruction of Jerusalem than are chaps. 1 and 2 and more on the suffering of an individual. The identity of the individual is never given, and one probably should not search for a specific identification of the speaker. The figure of the representative sufferer makes concrete the pain of the people in a way similar to the personification of Zion as a woman in chaps. 1 and 2. Indeed, in vv. 40–48 the individual voice gives way to a communal voice, returning in vv. 49–66 to the individual sufferer.
- 3:21–24 In the midst of a description of suffering, the speaker offers this brief but compelling statement of hope in God’s ultimate mercy. It is a hard-won and precarious hope, nearly submerged by the volume and intensity of the surrounding lament, but it is hope nonetheless.
- 3:29 To put one’s mouth in the dust: a sign of humiliation and submission; cf. v. 16; Ps 72:9.
- 3:40–66 The plural voice in this lament suggests that a communal lament begins here; it then continues in the singular voice in vv. 55–66.
- 3:48–51 These verses are more appropriate on the lips of the poet, who speaks of “my city” (v. 51). Daughters of my city: here as elsewhere “daughter” may refer to villages dependent on a larger city.
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
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
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
God’s Steadfast Love Endures
3 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
2 he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
3 surely against me he turns his hand
again and again the whole day long.
4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away,
and broken my bones;
5 he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
6 he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has put heavy chains on me;
8 though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
9 he has blocked my ways with hewn stones,
he has made my paths crooked.
10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding;
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.
13 He drove into my heart
the arrows of his quiver;
14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,
the burden of their songs all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
he has sated me with wormwood.
16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
and 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 my expectation from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and my bitterness,[a]
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually thinks of it
and is bowed down within me.
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;
23 they are new every morning;
great is thy faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence
when he has laid it on him;
29 let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
31 For the Lord will not
cast off for ever,
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve the sons of men.
34 To crush under foot
all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to turn aside the right of a man
in the presence of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his cause,
the Lord does not approve.
37 Who has commanded and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has ordained it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and evil come?
39 Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord!
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands
to God in heaven:
42 “We have transgressed and rebelled,
and thou hast not forgiven.
43 “Thou hast wrapped thyself with anger and pursued us,
slaying without pity;
44 thou hast wrapped thyself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
45 Thou hast made us offscouring and refuse
among the peoples.
46 “All our enemies
rail against us;
47 panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and destruction;
48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 “My eyes will flow without ceasing,
without respite,
50 until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees;
51 my eyes cause me grief
at the fate of all the maidens of my city.
52 “I have been hunted like a bird
by those who were my enemies without cause;
53 they flung me alive into the pit
and cast stones on me;
54 water closed over my head;
I said, ‘I am lost.’
55 “I called on thy name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
56 thou didst hear my plea, ‘Do not close
thine ear to my cry for help!’[c]
57 Thou didst come near when I called on thee;
thou didst say, ‘Do not fear!’
58 “Thou hast taken up my cause, O Lord,
thou hast redeemed my life.
59 Thou hast seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;
judge thou my cause.
60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance, all their devices against me.
61 “Thou hast heard their taunts, O Lord,
all their devices against me.
62 The lips and thoughts of my assailants
are against me all the day long.
63 Behold their sitting and their rising;
I am the burden of their songs.
64 “Thou wilt requite them, O Lord,
according to the work of their hands.
65 Thou wilt give them dullness of heart;
thy curse will be on them.
66 Thou wilt pursue them in anger and destroy them
from under thy heavens, O Lord.”[d]
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:19 Cn: Heb wandering
- Lamentations 3:22 Syr Tg: Heb we are not cut off
- Lamentations 3:56 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 3:66 Syr Compare Gk Vg: Heb the heavens of the Lord
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.