Chronological
37 Who is he (A)who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That (B)woe and well-being proceed?
39 (C)Why should a living man [a]complain,
(D)A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the Lord;
41 (E)Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
42 (F)We have transgressed and rebelled;
You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through.
45 You have made us an (G)offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 (H)All our enemies
Have opened their mouths against us.
47 (I)Fear and a snare have come upon us,
(J)Desolation and destruction.
48 (K)My eyes overflow with rivers of water
For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 (L)My eyes flow and do not cease,
Without interruption,
50 Till the Lord from heaven
(M)Looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies (N)without cause
Hunted me down like a bird.
53 They [b]silenced my life (O)in the pit
And (P)threw [c]stones at me.
54 (Q)The waters flowed over my head;
(R)I said, “I am cut off!”
55 (S)I called on Your name, O Lord,
From the lowest (T)pit.
56 (U)You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.”
57 You (V)drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, (W)“Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have (X)pleaded the case for my soul;
(Y)You have redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, You have seen [d]how I am wronged;
(Z)Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their (AA)schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O Lord,
All their schemes against me,
62 The lips of my enemies
And their whispering against me all the day.
63 Look at their (AB)sitting down and their rising up;
I am their taunting song.
64 (AC)Repay them, O Lord,
According to the work of their hands.
65 Give them [e]a veiled heart;
Your curse be upon them!
66 In Your anger,
Pursue and destroy them
(AD)From under the heavens of the (AE)Lord.
The Degradation of Zion
4 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are [f]scattered
At the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
[g]Valuable as fine gold,
How they are [h]regarded (AF)as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
(AG)Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
(AH)The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
(AI)Embrace ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the (AJ)sin of Sodom,
Which was (AK)overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
7 Her [i]Nazirites were [j]brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their [k]appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
(AL)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these (AM)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the (AN)field.
10 The hands of the (AO)compassionate women
Have [l]cooked their (AP)own children;
They became (AQ)food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
(AR)He has poured out His fierce anger.
(AS)He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could (AT)enter the gates of Jerusalem—
13 (AU)Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
(AV)Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
14 They wandered blind in the streets;
(AW)They have defiled themselves with blood,
(AX)So that no one would touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them,
“Go away, (AY)unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”
16 The [m]face of the Lord scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
(AZ)The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
17 Still (BA)our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
18 (BB)They [n]tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
(BC)Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (BD)swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The (BE)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
(BF)Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of (BG)Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
(BH)The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 (BI)The punishment of your iniquity [o]is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
(BJ)He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!
Prayer for Restoration
5 Remember, (BK)O Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold (BL)our reproach!
2 (BM)Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like (BN)widows.
4 We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
5 (BO)They pursue at our [p]heels;
We labor and have no rest.
6 (BP)We have given our hand (BQ)to the Egyptians
And the (BR)Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 (BS)Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They (BT)ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men (BU)ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their (BV)music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into (BW)mourning.
16 (BX)The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint;
(BY)Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which is (BZ)desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.
19 You, O Lord, (CA)remain forever;
(CB)Your throne from generation to generation.
20 (CC)Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 (CD)Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be [q]restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.