Lamentations 3 | English Standard Version

English Standard Version

Great Is Your Faithfulness

1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; (Ps 2:9; Jer 20:18) 2 he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; (Isa 5:30) 3 surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; (Ps 51:8; Isa 38:13; Jer 50:17) 5 he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; (De 29:18; Job 19:12; La 3:19) 6 he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. (Ps 143:3) 7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy; (Job 19:8; Ps 88:8) 8 though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; (Job 19:7; Job 30:20; Ps 22:2) 9 he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked. (La 3:7) 10 He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; (Ho 13:8) 11 he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate; (Jer 18:15; La 1:13; La 3:10) 12 he bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow. (Job 16:12; La 2:4) 13 He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; (Job 6:4; Ps 38:2) 14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. (Job 30:9; Ps 69:12; Jer 20:7; La 3:63)

Job 30:9Ps 69:12Jer 20:7La 3:63

15 He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood. (Isa 51:17; Isa 51:21; Jer 9:15) 16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; (Pr 20:17; Jer 6:26) 17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness^[1] is; 18 so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” (Ps 9:18) 19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! (La 1:9; La 1:11; La 1:20; La 3:5; La 3:15)

La 1:9La 1:11La 1:20La 3:5La 3:15

20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. (Ps 42:6; Ps 44:25) 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: (Ps 42:5; Ps 42:11) 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;^[2] his mercies never come to an end; (Mal 3:6) 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Job 7:18; Ps 36:5) 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Ps 16:5; Ps 73:26; La 3:21) 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. (Ps 130:6; Isa 30:18) 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Ps 130:5; Ps 130:7; Mic 7:7) 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. (Ec 12:1; Mt 11:29) 28 Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; (Isa 3:26; La 1:1; La 2:10) 29 let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope; (Job 42:6) 30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. (Isa 50:6; Mt 5:39) 31 For the Lord will not cast off forever, (Ps 103:9) 32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; (Ps 103:8; Ps 106:45; La 1:5) 33 for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. (Heb 12:6; Heb 12:10; Heb 12:11) 34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, (Ps 107:10) 35 to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, (Hab 1:13) 36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve. (La 3:35) 37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? (Ps 33:9) 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? (Isa 45:7; Am 3:6) 39 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? (Pr 19:3) 40 Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! (Joe 2:12) 41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: (Ps 25:1; Ps 119:48) 42 “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. (Ps 78:17; Da 9:5) 43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; (La 2:2; La 2:17; La 2:21) 44 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. (La 2:1; La 3:8) 45 You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples. (1Co 4:13) 46 “All our enemies open their mouths against us; (La 2:16) 47 panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction; (Isa 24:17; Isa 51:19; Jer 48:43) 48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Jer 13:17; La 1:16) 49 “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, (La 3:48) 50 until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees; (Ps 14:2; Isa 63:15) 51 my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city. 52 “I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; (Ps 11:1; Ps 35:19; La 4:18) 53 they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me; (Jer 37:16; Jer 38:6; Jer 38:9; Da 6:17)

Jer 37:16Jer 38:6Jer 38:9Da 6:17

54 water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’ (Ps 69:2; Ps 88:5; Eze 37:11) 55 “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; (Ps 130:1) 56 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ (Ps 130:2) 57 You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ (Jos 1:9; Jas 4:8) 58 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life. (1Sa 24:15; Ps 119:154) 59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; judge my cause. (Ps 35:22) 60 You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me. (Jer 11:19) 61 “You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me. (La 3:60; La 5:1) 62 The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long. (Ps 18:39; Ps 18:48) 63 Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts. (Ps 139:2; La 3:14) 64 “You will repay them,^[3] O Lord, according to the work of their hands. (Ps 28:4; Jer 11:20; 2Ti 4:14) 65 You will give them^[4] dullness of heart; your curse will be^[5] on them. 66 You will pursue them^[6] in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O Lord.”^[7] (De 25:19; Ps 8:3; Jer 10:11)

New International Version

1 ^[1] I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath. 2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. 4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. 5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. 6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. 7 He has walled me in so that I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. 8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. 9 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? 40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: 42 ‘We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven. 43 ‘You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity. 44 You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. 45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations. 46 ‘All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us. 47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction.’ 48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. 49 My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, 50 until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. 51 What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city. 52 Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird. 53 They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me; 54 the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish. 55 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. 56 You heard my plea: ‘Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.’ 57 You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’ 58 You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life. 59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause! 60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me. 61 Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me – 62 what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. 63 Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs. 64 Pay them back what they deserve, Lord, for what their hands have done. 65 Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them! 66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.

King James Version

1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. 3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. 7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. 8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. 9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. 10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. 11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. 12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. 13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. 15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. 16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. 17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. 18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: 19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the LORD' mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. 29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. 30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach. 31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever: 32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High, 36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. 37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? 38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? 39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. 41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. 42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. 43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied. 44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through. 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction. 48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, 50 Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven. 51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. 52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. 53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. 54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off. 55 I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. 58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. 59 O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. 60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; 62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. 63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. 64 Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. 65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. 66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.

New International Reader’s Version

1 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 got 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.’ 19 I remember how I suffered and wandered. I remember how bitter my life was. 20 I remember it very well. My spirit is very sad deep down inside me. 21 But here is something else I remember. And it gives me hope. 22 The LORD loves us very much. So we haven’t been completely destroyed. His loving concern never fails. 23 His great love is new every morning. LORD, how faithful you are! 24 I say to myself, ‘The LORD is everything I will ever need. So I will put my hope in him.’ 25 The LORD is good to those who put their hope in him. He is good to those who look to him. 26 It is good when people wait quietly for the LORD to save them. 27 It is good for a man to carry a heavy load of suffering while he is young. 28 Let him sit alone and not say anything. The LORD has placed that load on him. 29 Let him bury his face in the dust. There might still be hope for him. 30 Let him turn his cheek towards those who would slap him. Let him be filled with shame. 31 The Lord doesn’t turn his back on people for ever. 32 He might bring suffering. But he will also show loving concern. How great his faithful love is! 33 He doesn’t want to bring pain or suffering to anyone. 34 Every time people crush prisoners under their feet, the Lord knows all about it. 35 When people refuse to give someone what they should, the Most High God knows it. 36 When people don’t treat someone fairly, the Lord knows it. 37 Suppose people order something to happen. It won’t happen unless the Lord has planned it. 38 Troubles and good things alike come to people because the Most High God has commanded them to come. 39 A person who is still alive shouldn’t blame God when God punishes them for their sins. 40 Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living. Let’s return to the LORD. 41 Let’s lift up our hands to God in heaven. Let’s pray to him with all our hearts. 42 Let’s say, ‘We have sinned. We’ve refused to obey you. And you haven’t forgiven us. 43 ‘You have covered yourself with the cloud of your anger. You have chased us. You have killed us without pity. 44 You have covered yourself with the cloud of your anger. Our prayers can’t get through to you. 45 You have made us become like trash and garbage among the nations. 46 ‘All our enemies have opened their mouths wide to swallow us up. 47 We are terrified and trapped. We are broken and destroyed.’ 48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes. That’s because my people are destroyed. 49 Tears will never stop flowing from my eyes. My eyes can’t get any rest. 50 I’ll weep until the LORD looks down from heaven. I’ll cry until he notices my tears. 51 What I see brings pain to my spirit. All the women of my city are mourning. 52 Those who were my enemies for no reason at all hunted me down as if I were a bird. 53 They tried to end my life by throwing me into a deep pit. They threw stones down at me. 54 The water rose and covered my head. I thought I was going to die. 55 LORD, I called out to you. I called out from the bottom of the pit. 56 I prayed, ‘Please don’t close your ears to my cry for help.’ And you heard my appeal. 57 You came near when I called out to you. You said, ‘Do not be afraid.’ 58 Lord, you stood up for me in court. You saved my life and set me free. 59 LORD, you have seen the wrong things people have done to me. Stand up for me again! 60 You have seen how my enemies have tried to get even with me. You know all about their plans against me. 61 LORD, you have heard them laugh at me. You know all about their plans against me. 62 You have heard my enemies whispering among themselves. They speak against me all day long. 63 Just look at them sitting and standing there! They sing and make fun of me. 64 LORD, pay them back. Punish them for what their hands have done. 65 Cover their minds with a veil. Put a curse on them! 66 LORD, get angry with them and hunt them down. Wipe them off the face of the earth.