ע Ayin

121 I have done what is righteous and just;
    do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure your servant’s well-being;
    do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation,
    looking for your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your love
    and teach me your decrees.
125 I am your servant; give me discernment
    that I may understand your statutes.
126 It is time for you to act, Lord;
    your law is being broken.
127 Because I love your commands
    more than gold, more than pure gold,
128 and because I consider all your precepts right,
    I hate every wrong path.

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ע Ayin

121 I have done what is righteous and just;(A)
    do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure your servant’s well-being;(B)
    do not let the arrogant oppress me.(C)
123 My eyes fail,(D) looking for your salvation,(E)
    looking for your righteous promise.(F)
124 Deal with your servant according to your love(G)
    and teach me your decrees.(H)
125 I am your servant;(I) give me discernment
    that I may understand your statutes.(J)
126 It is time for you to act, Lord;
    your law is being broken.(K)
127 Because I love your commands(L)
    more than gold,(M) more than pure gold,(N)
128 and because I consider all your precepts right,(O)
    I hate every wrong path.(P)

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Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker – also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier – and to the church that meets in your home:

Grace and peace to you[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and prayer

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Paul’s plea for Onesimus

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul – an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus – 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[b] who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him – who is my very heart – back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favour you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for ever – 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back – not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

22 And one thing more: prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:3 The Greek is plural; also in verses 22 and 25; elsewhere in this letter ‘you’ is singular.
  2. Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful.

Paul, a prisoner(A) of Christ Jesus, and Timothy(B) our brother,(C)

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker(D) also to Apphia our sister and Archippus(E) our fellow soldier(F)—and to the church that meets in your home:(G)

Grace and peace to you[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(H)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

I always thank my God(I) as I remember you in my prayers,(J) because I hear about your love for all his holy people(K) and your faith in the Lord Jesus.(L) I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,(M) because you, brother, have refreshed(N) the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you(O) on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner(P) of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son(Q) Onesimus,[b](R) who became my son while I was in chains.(S) 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains(T) for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced(U) but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave,(V) but better than a slave, as a dear brother.(W) He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner,(X) welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.(Y) 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.(Z) I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh(AA) my heart in Christ. 21 Confident(AB) of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be(AC) restored to you in answer to your prayers.(AD)

23 Epaphras,(AE) my fellow prisoner(AF) in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark,(AG) Aristarchus,(AH) Demas(AI) and Luke, my fellow workers.(AJ)

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:3 The Greek is plural; also in verses 22 and 25; elsewhere in this letter “you” is singular.
  2. Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful.

The Lord has rejected his altar
    and abandoned his sanctuary.
He has given the walls of her palaces
    into the hands of the enemy;
they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord
    as on the day of an appointed festival.

The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.

Her gates have sunk into the ground;
    their bars he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations,
    the law is no more,
and her prophets no longer find
    visions from the Lord.

10 The elders of Daughter Zion
    sit on the ground in silence;
they have sprinkled dust on their heads
    and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.

11 My eyes fail from weeping,
    I am in torment within;
my heart is poured out on the ground
    because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
    in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers,
    ‘Where is bread and wine?’
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away
    in their mothers’ arms.

13 What can I say for you?
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?
Your wound is as deep as the sea.
    Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophets
    were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.

15 All who pass your way
    clap their hands at you;
they scoff and shake their heads
    at Daughter Jerusalem:
‘Is this the city that was called
    the perfection of beauty,
    the joy of the whole earth?’

16 All your enemies open their mouths
    wide against you;
they scoff and gnash their teeth
    and say, ‘We have swallowed her up.
This is the day we have waited for;
    we have lived to see it.’

17 The Lord has done what he planned;
    he has fulfilled his word,
    which he decreed long ago.
He has overthrown you without pity,
    he has let the enemy gloat over you,
    he has exalted the horn[a] of your foes.

18 The hearts of the people
    cry out to the Lord.
You walls of Daughter Zion,
    let your tears flow like a river
    day and night;
give yourself no relief,
    your eyes no rest.

19 Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
    in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
    at every street corner.

20 ‘Look, Lord, and consider:
    whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,
    the children they have cared for?
Should priest and prophet be killed
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 ‘Young and old lie together
    in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
    have fallen by the sword.
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
    you have slaughtered them without pity.

22 ‘As you summon to a feast day,
    so you summoned against me terrors on every side.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
    no one escaped or survived;
those I cared for and reared
    my enemy has destroyed.’

[b]I am the man who has seen affliction
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness rather than light;
indeed, he has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
    and has broken my bones.
He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in so that I cannot escape;
    he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer.
He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.

10 Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion in hiding,
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
    and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

13 He pierced my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.
14 I became the laughing-stock of all my people;
    they mock me in song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
    he has trampled me in the dust.
17 I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, ‘My splendour is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.’

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.’

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust –
    there may yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
    and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For no one is cast off
    by the Lord for ever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

34 To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,
36 to deprive them of justice –
    would not the Lord see such things?

37 Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?
39 Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolises strength.
  2. 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.

The Lord has rejected his altar
    and abandoned his sanctuary.(A)
He has given the walls of her palaces(B)
    into the hands of the enemy;
they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord
    as on the day of an appointed festival.(C)

The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.(D)
He stretched out a measuring line(E)
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts(F) and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.(G)

Her gates(H) have sunk into the ground;
    their bars(I) he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled(J) among the nations,
    the law(K) is no more,
and her prophets(L) no longer find
    visions(M) from the Lord.

10 The elders of Daughter Zion
    sit on the ground in silence;(N)
they have sprinkled dust(O) on their heads(P)
    and put on sackcloth.(Q)
The young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.(R)

11 My eyes fail from weeping,(S)
    I am in torment within(T);
my heart(U) is poured out(V) on the ground
    because my people are destroyed,(W)
because children and infants faint(X)
    in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers,
    “Where is bread and wine?”(Y)
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away(Z)
    in their mothers’ arms.(AA)

13 What can I say for you?(AB)
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter(AC) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?(AD)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.(AE)
    Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophets
    were false(AF) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.(AG)
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.(AH)

15 All who pass your way
    clap their hands at you;(AI)
they scoff(AJ) and shake their heads(AK)
    at Daughter Jerusalem:(AL)
“Is this the city that was called
    the perfection of beauty,(AM)
    the joy of the whole earth?”(AN)

16 All your enemies open their mouths
    wide against you;(AO)
they scoff and gnash their teeth(AP)
    and say, “We have swallowed her up.(AQ)
This is the day we have waited for;
    we have lived to see it.”(AR)

17 The Lord has done what he planned;
    he has fulfilled(AS) his word,
    which he decreed long ago.(AT)
He has overthrown you without pity,(AU)
    he has let the enemy gloat over you,(AV)
    he has exalted the horn[a] of your foes.(AW)

18 The hearts of the people
    cry out to the Lord.(AX)
You walls of Daughter Zion,(AY)
    let your tears(AZ) flow like a river
    day and night;(BA)
give yourself no relief,
    your eyes no rest.(BB)

19 Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart(BC) like water
    in the presence of the Lord.(BD)
Lift up your hands(BE) to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint(BF) from hunger
    at every street corner.

20 “Look, Lord, and consider:
    Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,(BG)
    the children they have cared for?(BH)
Should priest and prophet be killed(BI)
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?(BJ)

21 “Young and old lie together
    in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
    have fallen by the sword.(BK)
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
    you have slaughtered them without pity.(BL)

22 “As you summon to a feast day,
    so you summoned against me terrors(BM) on every side.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
    no one escaped(BN) or survived;
those I cared for and reared(BO)
    my enemy has destroyed.”

[b]I am the man who has seen affliction(BP)
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(BQ)
He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness(BR) rather than light;
indeed, he has turned his hand against me(BS)
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(BT)
    and has broken my bones.(BU)
He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness(BV) and hardship.(BW)
He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.(BX)

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(BY)
    he has weighed me down with chains.(BZ)
Even when I call out or cry for help,(CA)
    he shuts out my prayer.(CB)
He has barred(CC) my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.(CD)

10 Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion(CE) in hiding,(CF)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled(CG) me
    and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow(CH)
    and made me the target(CI) for his arrows.(CJ)

13 He pierced(CK) my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.(CL)
14 I became the laughingstock(CM) of all my people;(CN)
    they mock me in song(CO) all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.(CP)

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;(CQ)
    he has trampled me in the dust.(CR)
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.”(CS)

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness(CT) and the gall.(CU)
20 I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast(CV) within me.(CW)
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s great love(CX) we are not consumed,(CY)
    for his compassions never fail.(CZ)
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.(DA)
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;(DB)
    therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;(DC)
26 it is good to wait quietly(DD)
    for the salvation of the Lord.(DE)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,(DF)
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust(DG)
    there may yet be hope.(DH)
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,(DI)
    and let him be filled with disgrace.(DJ)

31 For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.(DK)
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.(DL)
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.(DM)

34 To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,(DN)
36 to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?(DO)

37 Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?(DP)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?(DQ)
39 Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?(DR)

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  2. 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.