Hope through God’s Mercy

א  Alef

1I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

2He has driven me away and forced me to walk

in darkness instead of light.a

3Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand

against me all day long.

ב  Bet

4He has worn away my flesh and skin;b

He has shattered my bones.c

5He has laid siege against me,d

encircling me with bitterness and hardship.e

6He has made me dwell in darkness

like those who have been dead for ages.f

ג  Gimel

7He has walled me in so I cannot escape;g

He has weighed me down with chains.

8Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He rejects my prayer.h

9He has walled in my ways with cut stones;i

He has made my paths crooked.j

ד  Dalet

10He isk a bear waiting in ambush,

a lion in hiding.l

11He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;

He left me desolate.

12He strung His bowm

and set me as the target for His arrow.

ה  He

13He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.n

14I am a laughingstocko to all my people,p

mocked by their songsq all day long.

15He filled me with bitterness,

satiated me with •wormwood.r

ו  Vav

16He ground my teeth on gravels

and made me cowert in the dust.

17My soul has been deprivedu of peace;v

I have forgotten what happiness is.

18Then I thought: My futurew is lost,

as well as my hope from the LORD.

ז  Zayin

19Rememberx my affliction and my homelessness,y

the wormwood and the poison.z

20I continually remember them

and have become depressed.aa, ab

21Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:ac

ח  Khet

22Because of the LORD’s faithful lovead

we do not perish,ae

for His mercies never end.

23They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!af

24I say: The LORD is my portion,ag

therefore I will put my hope in Him.

ט  Tet

25The LORD is good to those who waitah for Him,

to the person who seeks Him.

26It is good to wait quietlyai

for deliverance from the LORD.aj

27It is good for a man to bear the yokeak

while he is still young.

י  Yod

28Let him sit alone and be silent,al

for God has disciplined him.

29Let him put his mouth in the dustam —

perhaps there is still hope.

30Let him offer his cheek

to the one who would strike him;an

let him be filled with shame.

כ  Kaf

31For the Lord

will not reject us forever.

32Even if He causes suffering,

He will show compassion

according to His abundant, faithful love.ao

33For He does not enjoy bringing afflictionap

or suffering on •mankind.

ל  Lamed

34Crushing all the prisoners of the landaq

beneath one’s feet,

35denying justice to a manar

in the presence of the •Most High,

36or suppressing a person’s lawsuitas —

the Lord does not approve of these things.

מ  Mem

37Who is there who speaks and it happens,

unless the Lord has ordained it?at

38Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?au

39Why should any living person complain,

any man, because of the punishment for his sins?

נ  Nun

40Let us search out and examine our ways,

and turn back to the LORD.av

41Let us lift up our hearts and our handsaw

to God in heaven:

42We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.ax

ס  Samek

43You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without compassion.ay

44You have covered Yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can pass through.az

45You have made us disgusting filth

among the peoples.ba

פ  Pe

46All our enemies

open their mouths against us.bb

47We have experienced panic and pitfall,bc

devastation and destruction.

48My eyes flow with streams of tears

because of the destruction of my dear people.

ע  Ayin

49My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without end,bd

50until the LORD looks down

from heaven and sees.be

51My eyes bring me grief

because of the fate of all the women in my city.

צ  Tsade

52For no apparent reason, my enemiesbf

hunted me like a bird.bg

53They dropped me alive intobh a pitbi

and threw stones at me.

54Water flooded over my head,bj

and I thought: I’m going to die!bk

ק  Qof

55I called on Your name, •Yahweh,

from the depths of the •Pit.bl

56You hear my plea:

Do not ignore my cry for relief.

57You come near when I call on You;

You say: “Do not be afraid.”

ר  Resh

58You defend my cause, Lord;bm

You redeem my life.bn

59LORD, You see the wrong done to me;

judge my case.

60You see all their malice,

all their plots against me.bo

ׂש  Sin / ׁש  Shin

61LORD, You hear their insults,bp

all their plots against me.

62The slanderbq and murmuring of my opponents

attack me all day long.

63When they sit and when they rise, look,

I am mocked by their songs.br

ת  Tav

64You will pay them back what they deserve, LORD,

according to the work of their hands.bs

65You will give them a heart filled with anguish.bt, bu

May Your curse be on them!

66You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

under Your heavens.bv, bw, bx