Lamentations 3:1-18

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Prophet—a Man of Despair

3 ^[a]“I am the man who has experienced suffering under the rod of God’s fury.
²God has driven me away
and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
³He beat me again and again all day long.
⁴He has made my flesh and my skin waste away.
He has broken my bones.
⁵He has attacked me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
⁶He has made me live in darkness,
like those who died a long time ago.
⁷He has blocked me so that I can’t get out.
He has put heavy chains on me.
⁸Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
⁹He has blocked my way with cut stones and made my paths crooked.
¹⁰He is like a bear waiting to ambush me, like a lion in hiding.
¹¹He has forced me off the road I was taking, torn me to pieces,
and left me with nothing.
¹²He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
¹³He has shot the arrows from his quiver into my heart.
¹⁴I have become a laughingstock to all my people.
All day long ⌞they make fun of me⌟ with their songs.
¹⁵He has filled me with bitterness.
He has made me drink wormwood.
¹⁶He has ground my teeth with gravel.
He has trampled me into the dust.

¹⁷“My soul has been kept from enjoying peace.
I have forgotten what happiness is.
¹⁸I said, ‘I’ve lost my strength ⌞to live⌟ and my hope in the Lord.’

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