Lamentations 3
3
There Is Still Hope
The Prophet Speaks:
1I have suffered much
because God was angry.
2He chased me into a dark place,
where no light could enter.
3I am the only one he punishes
over and over again,
without ever stopping.
4God caused my skin and flesh
to waste away,
and he crushed my bones.
5He attacked and surrounded me
with hardships and trouble;
6he forced me to sit in the dark
like someone long dead.
7God built a fence around me
that I cannot climb over,
and he chained me down.
8Even when I shouted
and prayed for help,
he refused to listen.
9God put big rocks in my way
and made me follow
a crooked path.
10God was like a bear or a lion
waiting in ambush for me;
11he dragged me from the road,
then tore me to shreds.#3.11 shreds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 11.
12God took careful aim
and shot his arrows
13straight through my heart.
14I am a joke to everyone—
no one ever stops
making fun of me.
15God has turned my life sour.
16He made me eat gravel
and rubbed me in the dirt.
17I cannot find peace
or remember happiness.
18I tell myself, “I am finished!
I can't count on the Lord
to do anything for me.”
19Just thinking of my troubles
and my lonely wandering
makes me miserable.
20That's all I ever think about,
and I am depressed.#3.20 I am depressed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
21Then I remember something
that fills me with hope.
22The Lord's kindness never fails!
If he had not been merciful,
we would have been destroyed.#3.22 destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 22.
23The Lord can always be trusted
to show mercy each morning.
24Deep in my heart I say,
“The Lord is all I need;
I can depend on him!”
25The Lord is kind to everyone
who trusts and obeys him.
26It is good to wait patiently
for the Lord to save us.
27When we are young,
it is good to struggle hard
28and to sit silently alone,
if this is what
the Lord intends.
29Being rubbed in the dirt
can teach us a lesson;#3.29 lesson: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 29.
30we can also learn from insults
and hard knocks.
31The Lord won't always reject us!
32He causes a lot of suffering,
but he also has pity
because of his great love.
33The Lord doesn't enjoy
sending grief or pain.
34Don't trample prisoners
under your feet
35or cheat anyone out of
what is rightfully theirs.
God Most High sees everything,
36and he knows when you refuse
to give someone a fair trial.
37No one can do anything
without the Lord's approval.
38Good and bad each happen
at the command
of God Most High.
39We're still alive!
We shouldn't complain
when we are being punished
for our sins.
40Instead, we should think
about the way we are living,
and turn back to the Lord.
41When we lift our hands
in prayer to God in heaven,
we should offer him our hearts
and say, 42“We've sinned!
We've rebelled against you,
and you haven't forgiven us!
43Anger is written all over you,
as you pursue and slaughter us
without showing pity.
44You are behind a wall of clouds
that blocks out our prayers.
45You allowed nations
to treat us like garbage;
46our enemies curse us.
47We are terrified and trapped,
caught and crushed.”
48My people are destroyed!
Tears flood my eyes,
49and they won't stop
50until the Lord looks down
from heaven and helps.
51I am horrified when I see
what enemies have done
to the young women of our city.
52No one had reason to hate me,
but I was hunted down
like a bird.
53Then they tried to kill me
by tossing me into a pit
and throwing stones at me.
54Water covered my head—
I thought I was gone.
55From the bottom of the pit,
I prayed to you, Lord.
56I begged you to listen.
“Help!” I shouted. “Save me!”
You answered my prayer
57and came when I was in need.
You told me, “Don't worry!”
58You rescued me
and saved my life.
59You saw them abuse me, Lord,
so make things right.
60You know every plot
they have made against me.
61Yes, you know their insults
and their evil plans.
62All day long they attack
with words and whispers.
63No matter what they are doing,
they keep on mocking me.
64Pay them back for everything
they have done, Lord!
65Put your curse on them
and make them suffer.#3.65 make them suffer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
66Get angry and go after them
until not a trace is left
under the heavens.
Currently Selected:
Lamentations 3: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Lamentations 3
3
The Prophet—a Man of Despair
1 # 3:1 Chapter 3 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order. “I am the man who has experienced suffering under the rod of God’s fury.
2God has driven me away
and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
3He beat me again and again all day long.
4He has made my flesh and my skin waste away.
He has broken my bones.
5He has attacked me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6He has made me live in darkness,
like those who died a long time ago.
7He has blocked me so that I can’t get out.
He has put heavy chains on me.
8Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
9He has blocked my way with cut stones and made my paths crooked.
10He is like a bear waiting to ambush me, like a lion in hiding.
11He has forced me off the road I was taking, torn me to pieces,
and left me with nothing.
12He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
13He has shot the arrows from his quiver into my heart.
14I have become a laughingstock to all my people.
All day long ⌞they make fun of me⌟ with their songs.
15He has filled me with bitterness.
He has made me drink wormwood.
16He has ground my teeth with gravel.
He has trampled me into the dust.
17“My soul has been kept from enjoying peace.
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18I said, ‘I’ve lost my strength ⌞to live⌟ and my hope in the Lord.’
19Remember my suffering and my ⌞aimless⌟ wandering,
the wormwood and poison.
20My soul continues to remember ⌞these things⌟ and is so discouraged.
The Prophet—a Man of Hope
21“The reason I can ⌞still⌟ find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind:
22the Lord’s mercy.
We were not completely wiped out.
His compassion is never limited.
23It is new every morning.
His faithfulness is great.
24My soul can say, ‘The Lord is my lot ⌞in life⌟.
That is why I find hope in him.’
25The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to anyone who seeks help from him.
26“It is good to continue to hope and wait silently
for the Lord to save us.
27It is good for people to endure burdens when they’re young.
28They should sit alone and remain silent
because the Lord has laid these burdens on them.
29They should put their mouths in the dust.
Maybe a reason to hope exists.
30They should turn their cheeks to the one who strikes them
and take their fill of insults.
31“The Lord will not reject ⌞such⌟ people forever.
32Even if he makes us suffer,
he will have compassion
in keeping with the richness of his mercy.
33He does not willingly bring suffering or grief to anyone,
34crush any prisoner on earth underfoot,
35deny people their rights in the presence of the Most High God,
36or deprive people of justice in court.
The Lord isn’t happy to see ⌞these things⌟.
37Who was it who spoke and it came into being?
It was the Lord who gave the order.
38Both good and bad come from the mouth of the Most High God.
39“Why should any living mortal (any person)
complain about being punished for sin?
40Let us look closely at our ways and examine them
and then return to the Lord.
41Let us raise our hearts and hands to God in heaven.
42“We have been disobedient and rebellious.
You haven’t forgiven us.
43You covered yourself with anger and pursued us.
You killed without pity.
44You covered yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer could get through it.
45You made us the scum and trash of the nations.
46All our enemies gawk at us.
47Panic and pitfalls have found us, so have devastation and destruction.
48“Streams of tears run down from my eyes
over the ruin of my dear people.
49My eyes will keep flowing without stopping for a moment
50until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.
51What I see with my eyes disturbs me deeply
because of all the young women in my city.
52“Those who were my enemies for no reason hunted me like a bird.
53They threw me alive into a pit and threw rocks at me.
54Water flowed over my head. I thought I was finished.
55“I call your name from the deepest pit, O Lord.
56Listen to my cry ⌞for help⌟.
Don’t close your ears when I cry out for relief.
57Be close at hand when I call to you. You told me not to be afraid.
58Plead my case for me, O Lord. Reclaim my life.
59Look at the wrong that has been done to me, O Lord.
Give me a fair verdict.
60Look at all their malice, all their plots against me.
61Listen to their insults, all their plots against me.
62The words and thoughts of those who attack me
are directed against me all day long.
63Look at them! Whether they are sitting or standing,
they make fun of me in their songs.
64Pay them back, O Lord, for what they deserve,
for what their own hands have done.
65Make them stubborn. Let your curse be on them.
66Pursue them in anger, and wipe them out from under the Lord’s heaven.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.