Lamentations 3:1-18
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 peoples,
(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[a] is;
18 (Y)so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:17 Hebrew good
Lamentations 3:1-18
International Standard Version
The Lord’s Purposes for Affliction
3 I am a man familiar with affliction—
under the rod of God’s[a] anger.
2 He has led me—brought me
into darkness, not into light.
3 He truly turned his hand against me,
again and again, all day long.
4 He made my flesh and skin prematurely old;
he broke my bones.
5 He laid siege against me,
surrounding me with bitterness and suffering.
6 He has forced me to live in darkness,
like those who are long dead.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he placed heavy chains on me.
8 Indeed, when I cry out, calling for help,
he shuts out my prayer.
9 He impeded my way with blocks of stone,
making my paths uneven.
10 He is like[b] a bear that lies in wait for me,
a lion in hiding.
11 He forced me off my path,
tearing me to pieces and making me desolate.
12 He bent his bow,
aiming at me with his arrow.
13 He caused his war arrows[c]
to pierce my vital organs.
14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people,
the object of their taunts throughout the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
making me drink wormwood.
16 He broke my teeth on gravel,
covering me with dust.
17 You have removed peace from my life;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.[d]
18 So I say, “My strength is gone
as is my hope in the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:1 Lit. his
- Lamentations 3:10 The Heb. lacks like
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. caused the sons of his arrows
- Lamentations 3:17 Lit. forgotten prosperity
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
