Old/New Testament
The Meaning of Suffering
3 I am a man who has seen the suffering
that comes from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
2 He led me
into darkness, not light.
3 He turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He wore out my flesh and skin
and broke my bones.
5 He surrounded me with sadness
and attacked me with grief.
6 He made me sit in the dark,
like those who have been dead a long time.
7 He shut me in so I could not get out;
he put heavy chains on me.
8 I cry out and beg for help,
but he ignores my prayer.
9 He blocked my way with a stone wall
and led me in the wrong direction.
10 He is like a bear ready to attack me,
like a lion in hiding.
11 He led me the wrong way and let me stray
and left me without help.
12 He prepared to shoot his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot me in the kidneys
with the arrows from his bag.
14 I was a joke to all my people,
who make fun of me with songs all day long.
15 The Lord filled me with misery;
he made me drunk with suffering.
16 He broke my teeth with gravel
and trampled me into the dirt.
17 I have no more peace.
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 I said, “My strength is gone,
and I have no hope in the Lord.”
19 Lord, remember my suffering and my misery,
my sorrow and trouble.
20 Please remember me
and think about me.
21 But I have hope
when I think of this:
22 The Lord’s love never ends;
his mercies never stop.
23 They are new every morning;
Lord, your loyalty is great.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is mine,
so I hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who hope in him,
to those who seek him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the Lord to save.
27 It is good for someone to work hard
while he is young.
28 He should sit alone and be quiet;
the Lord has given him hard work to do.
29 He should bow down to the ground;
maybe there is still hope.
30 He should let anyone slap his cheek;
he should be filled with shame.
31 The Lord will not reject
his people forever.
32 Although he brings sorrow,
he also has mercy and great love.
33 He does not like to punish people
or make them sad.
34 He sees if any prisoner of the earth
is crushed under his feet;
35 he sees if someone is treated unfairly
before the Most High God;
36 the Lord sees
if someone is cheated in his case in court.
37 Nobody can speak and have it happen
unless the Lord commands it.
38 Both bad and good things
come by the command of the Most High God.
39 No one should complain
when he is punished for his sins.
40 Let us examine and see what we have done
and then return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hands and pray from our hearts
to God in heaven:
42 “We have sinned and turned against you,
and you have not forgiven us.
43 “You wrapped yourself in anger and chased us;
you killed us without mercy.
44 You wrapped yourself in a cloud,
and no prayer could get through.
45 You made us like scum and trash
among the other nations.
46 “All of our enemies
open their mouths and speak against us.
47 We have been frightened and fearful,
ruined and destroyed.”
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
because my people are destroyed.
49 My tears flow continually,
without stopping,
50 until the Lord looks down
and sees from heaven.
51 I am sad when I see
what has happened to all the women of my city.
52 Those who are my enemies for no reason
hunted me like a bird.
53 They tried to kill me in a pit;
they threw stones at me.
54 Water came up over my head,
and I said, “I am going to die.”
55 I called out to you, Lord,
from the bottom of the pit.
56 You heard me calling, “Do not close your ears
and ignore my gasps and shouts.”
57 You came near when I called to you;
you said, “Don’t be afraid.”
58 Lord, you have taken my case
and given me back my life.
59 Lord, you have seen how I have been wronged.
Now judge my case for me.
60 You have seen how my enemies took revenge on me
and made evil plans against me.
61 Lord, you have heard their insults
and all their evil plans against me.
62 The words and thoughts of my enemies
are against me all the time.
63 Look! In everything they do
they make fun of me with songs.
64 Pay them back, Lord,
for what they have done.
65 Make them stubborn,
and put your curse on them.
66 Chase them in anger, Lord,
and destroy them from under your heavens.
The Attack on Jerusalem
4 See how the gold has lost its shine,
how the pure gold has dulled!
The stones of the Temple are scattered
at every street corner.
2 The precious people of Jerusalem
were more valuable than gold,
but now they are thought of as clay jars
made by the hands of a potter.
3 Even wild dogs give their milk
to feed their young,
but my people are cruel
like ostriches in the desert.
4 The babies are so thirsty
their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths.
Children beg for bread,
but no one gives them any.
5 Those who once ate fine foods
are now starving in the streets.
People who grew up wearing nice clothes
now pick through trash piles.
6 My people have been punished
more than Sodom was.
Sodom was destroyed suddenly,
and no hands reached out to help her.
7 Our princes were purer than snow,
and whiter than milk.
Their bodies were redder than rubies;
they looked like sapphires.
8 But now they are blacker than coal,
and no one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin hangs on their bones;
it is as dry as wood.
9 Those who were killed in the war were better off
than those killed by hunger.
They starve in pain and die,
because there is no food from the field.
10 With their own hands kind women
cook their own children.
They became food
when my people were destroyed.
11 The Lord turned loose all of his anger;
he poured out his strong anger.
He set fire to Jerusalem,
burning it down to the foundations.
12 Kings of the earth and people of the world
could not believe
that enemies and foes
could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 It happened because her prophets sinned
and her priests did evil.
They killed in the city
those who did what was right.
14 They wandered in the streets
as if they were blind.
They were dirty with blood,
so no one would touch their clothes.
15 “Go away! You are unclean,” people shouted at them.
“Get away! Get away! Don’t touch us!”
So they ran away and wandered.
Even the other nations said, “Don’t stay here.”
16 The Lord himself scattered them
and did not look after them anymore.
No one respects the priests
or honors the elders.
17 Also, our eyes grew tired,
looking for help that never came.
We kept watch from our towers
for a nation to save us.
18 Our enemies hunted us,
so we could not even walk in the streets.
Our end is near. Our time is up.
Our end has come.
19 Those who chased us
were faster than eagles in the sky.
They ran us into the mountains
and ambushed us in the desert.
20 The Lord’s appointed king, who was our very breath,
was caught in their traps.
We had said about him, “We will be protected by him
among the nations.”
21 Be happy and glad, people of Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
The cup of God’s anger will come to you;
then you will get drunk and go naked.
22 Your punishment is complete, Jerusalem.
He will not send you into captivity again.
But the Lord will punish the sins of Edom;
he will uncover your evil.
A Prayer to the Lord
5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us.
Look and see our disgrace.
2 Our land has been turned over to strangers;
our houses have been given to foreigners.
3 We are like orphans with no father;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We have to buy the water we drink;
we must pay for the firewood.
5 Those who chase after us want to catch us by the neck.
We are tired and find no rest.
6 We made an agreement with Egypt
and with Assyria to get enough food.
7 Our ancestors sinned against you, but they are gone;
now we suffer because of their sins.
8 Slaves have become our rulers,
and no one can save us from them.
9 We risk our lives to get our food;
we face death in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven;
we burn with starvation.
11 The enemy abused the women of Jerusalem
and the girls in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung by the hands;
they did not respect our elders.
13 The young men ground grain at the mill,
and boys stumbled under loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit at the city gates;
the young men no longer sing.
15 We have no more joy in our hearts;
our dancing has turned to sadness.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
How terrible it is because we sinned.
17 Because of this we are afraid,
and now our eyes are dim.
18 Mount Zion is empty,
and wild dogs wander around it.
19 But you rule forever, Lord.
You will be King from now on.
20 Why have you forgotten us for so long?
Have you left us forever?
21 Bring us back to you, Lord, and we will return.
Make our days as they were before,
22 or have you completely rejected us?
Are you so angry with us?
Continue to Trust God
19 So, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place without fear because of the blood of Jesus’ death. 20 We can enter through a new and living way that Jesus opened for us. It leads through the curtain—Christ’s body. 21 And since we have a great priest over God’s house, 22 let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what he promised.
24 Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds. 25 You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day[a] coming.
26 If we decide to go on sinning after we have learned the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins. 27 There is nothing but fear in waiting for the judgment and the terrible fire that will destroy all those who live against God. 28 Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was found guilty from the proof given by two or three witnesses. He was put to death without mercy. 29 So what do you think should be done to those who do not respect the Son of God, who look at the blood of the agreement that made them holy as no different from others’ blood, who insult the Spirit of God’s grace? Surely they should have a much worse punishment. 30 We know that God said, “I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them.”[b] And he also said, “The Lord will judge his people.”[c] 31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 Remember those days in the past when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with many sufferings, but you continued strong. 33 Sometimes you were hurt and attacked before crowds of people, and sometimes you shared with those who were being treated that way. 34 You helped the prisoners. You even had joy when all that you owned was taken from you, because you knew you had something better and more lasting.
35 So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. 36 You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised. 37 For in a very short time,
“The One who is coming will come
and will not be delayed.
38 Those who are right with me
will live by faith.
But if they turn back with fear,
I will not be pleased with them.” Habakkuk 2:3–4
39 But we are not those who turn back and are lost. We are people who have faith and are saved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.