Hope through God’s Mercy

א Alef

I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath.
He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.(A)
Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand
against me all day long.

ב Bet

He has worn away my flesh and skin;(B)
He has shattered my bones.(C)
He has laid siege against me,(D)
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.(E)
He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.(F)

ג Gimel

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(G)
He has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I cry out and plead for help,
He rejects my prayer.(H)
He has walled in my ways with cut stones;(I)
He has made my paths crooked.(J)

ד Dalet

10 He is[a] a bear waiting in ambush,
a lion in hiding.(K)
11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
He left me desolate.
12 He strung His bow(L)
and set me as the target for His arrow.

ה He

13 He pierced my kidneys
with His arrows.(M)
14 I am a laughingstock(N) to all my people,[b]
mocked by their songs(O) all day long.
15 He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.(P)

ו Vav

16 He ground my teeth on gravel(Q)
and made me cower[c] in the dust.
17 My soul has been deprived[d] of peace;(R)
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 Then I thought: My future[e] is lost,
as well as my hope from the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 3:10 Lit is to me
  2. Lamentations 3:14 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss, Syr read all peoples
  3. Lamentations 3:16 Or and trampled me
  4. Lamentations 3:17 Syr, Vg; MT reads You deprived my soul
  5. Lamentations 3:18 Or splendor

The Lord’s Purposes for Affliction

I am a man familiar with affliction—
    under the rod of God’s[a] anger.
He has led me—brought me
    into darkness, not into light.
He truly turned his hand against me,
    again and again, all day long.

He made my flesh and skin prematurely old;
    he broke my bones.
He laid siege against me,
    surrounding me with bitterness and suffering.
He has forced me to live in darkness,
    like those who are long dead.

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
    he placed heavy chains on me.
Indeed, when I cry out, calling for help,
    he shuts out my prayer.
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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 3:1 Lit. his
  2. Lamentations 3:10 The Heb. lacks like
  3. Lamentations 3:13 Lit. caused the sons of his arrows
  4. Lamentations 3:17 Lit. forgotten prosperity