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Lamentations 3
New King James Version
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
New International Version
Lamentations 3
New International Version
3 [a]I am the man who has seen affliction(A)
by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness(C) rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me(D)
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(E)
and has broken my bones.(F)
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness(G) and hardship.(H)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.(I)
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(J)
he has weighed me down with chains.(K)
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,(L)
he shuts out my prayer.(M)
9 He has barred(N) my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.(O)
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion(P) in hiding,(Q)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled(R) me
and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow(S)
and made me the target(T) for his arrows.(U)
13 He pierced(V) my heart
with arrows from his quiver.(W)
14 I became the laughingstock(X) of all my people;(Y)
they mock me in song(Z) all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and given me gall to drink.(AA)
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;(AB)
he has trampled me in the dust.(AC)
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”(AD)
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness(AE) and the gall.(AF)
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast(AG) within me.(AH)
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love(AI) we are not consumed,(AJ)
for his compassions never fail.(AK)
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.(AL)
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;(AM)
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;(AN)
26 it is good to wait quietly(AO)
for the salvation of the Lord.(AP)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,(AQ)
for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust(AR)—
there may yet be hope.(AS)
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,(AT)
and let him be filled with disgrace.(AU)
31 For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.(AV)
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.(AW)
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.(AX)
34 To crush underfoot
all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
before the Most High,(AY)
36 to deprive them of justice—
would not the Lord see such things?(AZ)
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?(BA)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?(BB)
39 Why should the living complain
when punished for their sins?(BC)
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,(BD)
and let us return to the Lord.(BE)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven,(BF) and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled(BG)
and you have not forgiven.(BH)
43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued(BI) us;
you have slain without pity.(BJ)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud(BK)
so that no prayer(BL) can get through.(BM)
45 You have made us scum(BN) and refuse
among the nations.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
wide(BO) against us.(BP)
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,(BQ)
ruin and destruction.(BR)”
48 Streams of tears(BS) flow from my eyes(BT)
because my people are destroyed.(BU)
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
without relief,(BV)
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.(BW)
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
because of all the women of my city.
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
hunted me like a bird.(BX)
53 They tried to end my life in a pit(BY)
and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,(BZ)
and I thought I was about to perish.(CA)
55 I called on your name, Lord,
from the depths(CB) of the pit.(CC)
56 You heard my plea:(CD) “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near(CE) when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”(CF)
58 You, Lord, took up my case;(CG)
you redeemed my life.(CH)
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.(CI)
Uphold my cause!(CJ)
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their plots against me.(CK)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.
Lamentaciones 3
Nueva Versión Internacional
Lamentaciones 3
Nueva Versión Internacional
Álef
[a]3 Yo soy aquel que ha sufrido la aflicción
bajo la vara de su ira.
2 Me ha hecho andar en las tinieblas
y no en la luz.
3 Todo el día, una y otra vez,
su mano se ha vuelto contra mí.
Bet
4 Ha hecho que mi carne y mi piel envejezcan;
me ha quebrantado los huesos.
5 Me ha tendido un cerco
de amargura y tribulaciones.
6 Me obliga a vivir en las tinieblas,
como a los que hace tiempo murieron.
Guímel
7 Me tiene encerrado, no puedo escapar;
me ha puesto pesadas cadenas.
8 Por más que grito y pido ayuda,
él rechaza mi oración.
9 Cerró mi camino con bloques de piedra;
ha torcido mis senderos.
Dálet
10 Me acecha como oso,
como león escondido.
11 Me aparta del camino para despedazarme;
¡me deja sin ayuda!
12 Con el arco tenso,
me ha hecho blanco de sus flechas.
He
13 Me ha partido el corazón
con las flechas de su aljaba.
14 Soy el motivo de risa de todo mi pueblo;
todo el día me cantan parodias.
15 Me ha llenado de amargura,
me ha hecho beber hiel.
Vav
16 Con piedras me ha quebrado los dientes;
me ha hecho morder el polvo.
17 Me ha quitado la paz;
ya no recuerdo lo que es la dicha.
18 Y digo: «Me he quedado sin fuerzas
y sin esperanza en el Señor».
Zayin
19 Recuerda que estoy afligido y ando errante,
que estoy saturado de hiel y amargura.
20 Recuerdo esto bien
y por eso me deprimo.
21 Pero algo más me viene a la memoria,
lo cual me llena de esperanza:
Jet
22 Por el gran amor del Señor no hemos sido consumidos[b]
y su compasión jamás se agota.
23 Cada mañana se renuevan sus bondades;
¡muy grande es su fidelidad!
24 Me digo a mí mismo:
«El Señor es mi herencia.
¡En él esperaré!».
Tet
25 Bueno es el Señor con quienes esperan en él,
con todos los que lo buscan.
26 Bueno es esperar calladamente
la salvación del Señor.
27 Bueno es que el hombre aprenda
a llevar el yugo desde su juventud.
Yod
28 ¡Déjenlo estar solo y en silencio,
porque el Señor se lo ha impuesto!
29 ¡Que hunda el rostro en el polvo!
¡Tal vez haya esperanza todavía!
30 ¡Que dé la otra mejilla a quien lo hiera,
y quede así cubierto de deshonra!
Caf
31 El Señor nos ha rechazado,
pero no será para siempre.
32 Nos hace sufrir, pero también muestra compasión,
porque es muy grande su amor.
33 El Señor nos hiere y nos aflige,
pero no porque sea de su agrado.
Lámed
34 Cuando se aplasta bajo el pie
a todos los prisioneros de la tierra,
35 cuando en presencia del Altísimo
se le niegan al pueblo sus derechos
36 y no se hace justicia,
¿el Señor no se da cuenta?
Mem
37 ¿Quién puede anunciar algo y hacerlo realidad
sin que el Señor dé la orden?
38 ¿No es acaso por la boca del Altísimo
que acontece lo bueno y lo malo?
39 ¿Por qué habría de quejarse en vida
quien es castigado por sus pecados?
Nun
40 Examinemos y pongamos a prueba nuestras conductas
y volvamos al Señor.
41 Elevemos al Dios de los cielos
nuestro corazón y nuestras manos.
42 Hemos pecado, hemos sido rebeldes
y tú no nos has perdonado.
Sámej
43 Te cubriste de ira y nos persigues;
nos matas sin piedad.
44 Te cubriste con una nube
para no escuchar nuestra oración.
45 Como a escoria despreciable
nos has arrojado entre las naciones.
Pe
46 Todos nuestros enemigos abren la boca
para hablar mal de nosotros.
47 Hemos sufrido terrores y trampas,
ruina y destrucción.
48 Ríos de lágrimas corren por mis mejillas
porque ha sido destruida la hija de mi pueblo.
Ayin
49 Se inundarán en llanto mis ojos,
sin cesar y sin consuelo,
50 hasta que el Señor
contemple desde el cielo y vea.
51 Me duele en lo más profundo del alma
ver sufrir a las mujeres de mi ciudad.
Tsade
52 Mis enemigos me persiguen sin razón,
y quieren atraparme como a un ave.
53 Me quieren enterrar vivo
y me tiraron piedras.
54 Las aguas me han cubierto la cabeza;
tal parece que me ha llegado el fin.
Qof
55 Desde lo más profundo de la fosa
invoqué, Señor, tu nombre,
56 y tú escuchaste mi plegaria:
«No cierres tus oídos a mi clamor de alivio».
57 Te invoqué, y viniste a mí;
«No temas», me dijiste.
Resh
58 Tú, Señor, te pusiste de mi parte;
tú redimiste mi vida.
59 Tú, Señor, viste el mal que me causaron;
¡hazme justicia!
60 Tú notaste su sed de venganza
y todas sus maquinaciones en mi contra.
Shin
61 Señor, tú has escuchado sus insultos
y todos sus planes en mi contra;
62 tú sabes que todo el día mis enemigos
murmuran y se confabulan contra mí.
63 ¡Míralos! Hagan lo que hagan,[c]
se burlan de mí en sus canciones.
Tav
64 ¡Dales, Señor, su merecido
por todo lo que han hecho!
65 Pon un velo sobre sus corazones,
¡y caiga sobre ellos tu maldición!
66 Persíguelos, Señor, en tu enojo,
y bórralos de debajo de tus cielos.
Lamentations 3
English Standard Version
Lamentations 3
English Standard Version
Great Is Your Faithfulness
3 (A)I am the man who has seen affliction
under the (B)rod of his wrath;
2 he has driven and brought me
(C)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;
(D)he has broken my bones;
5 (E)he has besieged and enveloped me
with (F)bitterness and tribulation;
6 (G)he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
7 (H)He has walled me about so that (I)I cannot escape;
he has made my chains heavy;
8 though (J)I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
9 (K)he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
he has made my paths crooked.
10 (L)He is a bear lying in wait for me,
a lion in hiding;
11 (M)he turned aside my steps and (N)tore me to pieces;
(O)he has made me desolate;
12 (P)he bent his bow (Q)and set me
as a target for his arrow.
13 He drove into my kidneys
(R)the arrows of his quiver;
14 (S)I have become the laughingstock of all my people,[a]
(T)the object of their taunts all day long.
15 (U)He has filled me with bitterness;
he has sated me with (V)wormwood.
16 (W)He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
and (X)made me cower in ashes;
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness[b] is;
18 (Y)so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
19 (Z)Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
(AA)the wormwood and (AB)the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
(AC)and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and (AD)therefore I have hope:
22 (AE)The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[c]
(AF)his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new (AG)every morning;
(AH)great is your faithfulness.
24 (AI)“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
(AJ)“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who (AK)wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 (AL)It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 (AM)It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke (AN)in his youth.
28 Let him (AO)sit alone in silence
when it is laid on him;
29 (AP)let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 (AQ)let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
31 (AR)For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
32 for, though he (AS)cause grief, (AT)he will have compassion
(AU)according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 (AV)for he does not afflict from his heart
or (AW)grieve the children of men.
34 To crush underfoot
all (AX)the prisoners of the earth,
35 (AY)to deny a man justice
in the presence of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit,
(AZ)the Lord does not approve.
37 (BA)Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 (BB)Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?
39 (BC)Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us test and examine our ways,
(BD)and return to the Lord!
41 (BE)Let us lift up our hearts and hands
to God in heaven:
42 (BF)“We have transgressed and (BG)rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.
43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
(BH)killing without pity;
44 (BI)you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
45 (BJ)You have made us scum and garbage
among the peoples.
46 (BK)“All our enemies
open their mouths against us;
47 (BL)panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and (BM)destruction;
48 (BN)my eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 (BO)“My eyes will flow without ceasing,
without respite,
50 (BP)until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees;
51 my eyes cause me grief
at the fate of all the daughters of my city.
52 (BQ)“I have been hunted (BR)like a bird
by those who were my enemies (BS)without cause;
53 (BT)they flung me alive into the pit[d]
(BU)and cast stones on me;
54 (BV)water closed over my head;
I said, (BW)‘I am lost.’
55 (BX)“I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
56 (BY)you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
your ear to my cry for help!’
57 (BZ)You came near when I called on you;
you said, (CA)‘Do not fear!’
58 “You have (CB)taken up my cause, (CC)O Lord;
you have (CD)redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong done to me, (CE)O Lord;
judge my cause.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
all (CF)their plots against me.
61 (CG)“You have heard their taunts, O Lord,
all (CH)their plots against me.
62 The lips and thoughts (CI)of my assailants
are against me all the day long.
63 (CJ)Behold their sitting and their rising;
(CK)I am the object of their taunts.
64 (CL)“You will repay them,[e] O Lord,
(CM)according to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them[f] dullness of heart;
your curse will be[g] on them.
66 You will pursue them[h] in anger and (CN)destroy them
from under (CO)your heavens, O Lord.”[i]
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:14 Some manuscripts all peoples
- Lamentations 3:17 Hebrew good
- Lamentations 3:22 Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Because of the steadfast love of the Lord, we are not cut off
- Lamentations 3:53 Or they end my life in the pit
- Lamentations 3:64 Or Repay them
- Lamentations 3:65 Or Give them
- Lamentations 3:65 Or place your curse
- Lamentations 3:66 Or Pursue them
- Lamentations 3:66 Syriac (compare Septuagint, Vulgate); Hebrew the heavens of the Lord
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