Lamentations 3:1-18

New International Reader's Version

3 I am a man who has suffered greatly.
    The Lord has used the Babylonians
    to punish my people.
² He has driven me away. He has made me walk
    in darkness instead of light.
³ He has turned his powerful hand against me.
    He has done it again and again, all day long.

⁴ He has worn out my body.
    He has broken my bones.
⁵ He has surrounded me and attacked me.
    He has made me suffer bitterly.
    He has made things hard for me.
⁶ He has made me live in darkness
    like those who are dead and gone.

⁷ He has built walls around me, so I can’t escape.
    He has put heavy chains on me.
⁸ I call out and cry for help.
    But he won’t listen to me when I pray.
⁹ He has put up a stone wall to block my way.
    He has made my paths crooked.

¹⁰ He has been like a bear waiting to attack me.
    He has been like a lion hiding in the bushes.
¹¹ He has dragged me off the path.
    He has torn me to pieces.
    And he has left me helpless.
¹² He has gotten his bow ready to use.
    He has shot his arrows at me.

¹³ The arrows from his bag
    have gone through my heart.
¹⁴ My people laugh at me all the time.
    They sing and make fun of me all day long.
¹⁵ The Lord has made my life bitter.
    He has made me suffer bitterly.

¹⁶ He made me chew stones that broke my teeth.
    He has walked all over me in the dust.
¹⁷ I have lost all hope of ever having any peace.
    I’ve forgotten what good times are like.
¹⁸ So I say, “My glory has faded away.
    My hope in the Lord is gone.”