Lamentations 3:19-66

New American Standard Bible

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

¹⁹Remember my misery and my homelessness, the ^(A)wormwood and ^[a]bitterness.
²⁰^(B)My soul certainly remembers,
And ^[b]is ^(C)bent over within me.
²¹I recall this to my mind,
Therefore I ^[c]^(D)wait.
²²^[d]The Lord’s ^(E)acts of mercy indeed do not end,
^(F)For His compassions do not fail.
²³They are new ^(G)every morning;
Great is ^(H)Your faithfulness.
²⁴“The Lord is my ^(I)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I ^[e]^(J)wait for Him.”
²⁵The Lord is good to those who ^[f]^(K)await Him,
To the ^[g]person who ^(L)seeks Him.
²⁶It is good that he ^(M)waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
²⁸Let him ^(N)sit alone and keep quiet,
Since He has laid it on him.
²⁹Let him ^[h]put his mouth in the ^(O)dust;
Perhaps there is ^(P)hope.
³⁰Let him give his ^(Q)cheek to the one who is going to strike him;
Let him be filled with shame.
³¹For the Lord will ^(R)not reject forever,
³²For if He causes grief,
Then He will have ^(S)compassion
In proportion to His abundant mercy.
³³For He ^(T)does not ^[i]afflict ^[j]willingly
Or ^[k]grieve the sons of mankind.
³⁴To crush under ^[l]one’s feet
All the prisoners of the ^[m]land,
³⁵To ^[n]deprive a man of ^(U)justice
In the presence of the Most High,
³⁶To ^[o]^(V)defraud someone in his lawsuit—
Of these things the Lord does not ^[p]approve.
³⁷Who is ^[q]there who speaks and it ^(W)comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?
³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That ^[r]^(X)both adversity and good proceed?

³⁹Of what can any living ^[s]mortal, or any man,
^(Y)Complain ^[t]in view of his sins?
⁴⁰Let’s ^(Z)examine and search out our ways,
And let’s return to the Lord.
⁴¹We ^(AA)raise our heart ^[u]and hands
Toward God in heaven;
⁴²We have ^(AB)done wrong and rebelled;
You have ^(AC)not pardoned.
⁴³You have covered Yourself with ^(AD)anger
And ^(AE)pursued us;
You have slain and ^(AF)have not spared.
⁴⁴You have ^(AG)veiled Yourself with a cloud
So that ^(AH)no prayer can pass through.
⁴⁵You have made us mere ^(AI)refuse and rubbish
In the midst of the peoples.
⁴⁶All our enemies have ^(AJ)opened their mouths against us.
⁴⁷^(AK)Panic and pitfall have come upon us,
Devastation and destruction;
⁴⁸My ^[v]^(AL)eyes run down with streams of water
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
⁴⁹My eyes flow ^(AM)unceasingly,
Without stopping,
⁵⁰Until the Lord ^(AN)looks down
And sees from heaven.
⁵¹My eyes bring pain to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
⁵²My enemies ^(AO)without reason
Hunted me down ^(AP)like a bird;
⁵³They have silenced ^[w]me ^(AQ)in the pit
And have ^[x]^(AR)thrown stones on me.
⁵⁴Waters flowed ^(AS)over my head;
I said, “I am ^[y]cut off!”
⁵⁵I ^(AT)called on Your name, Lord,
Out of the lowest pit.
⁵⁶You have ^(AU)heard my voice,
“^(AV)Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief,
From my cry for help.”
⁵⁷You ^(AW)came near on the day I called to You;
You said, “^(AX)Do not fear!”
⁵⁸Lord, You ^(AY)have pleaded my soul’s cause;
You have ^(AZ)redeemed my life.
⁵⁹Lord, You have ^(BA)seen my oppression;
^(BB)Judge my case.
⁶⁰You have seen all their vengeance,
All their ^(BC)schemes against me.
⁶¹You have heard their ^(BD)reproach, Lord,
All their schemes against me.
⁶²The ^(BE)lips of my assailants and their talk
Are against me all day long.
⁶³Look at their ^[z]^(BF)sitting and their rising;
^(BG)I am their mocking song.
⁶⁴You will ^(BH)repay them, Lord,
In accordance with the work of their hands.
⁶⁵You will give them ^[aa]^(BI)shamelessness of heart,
Your curse will be on them.
⁶⁶You will ^(BJ)pursue them in anger and eliminate them
From under the ^(BK)heavens of the Lord!