Lamentations 3:1-21 ▼

1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.

2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light.

3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand against me all day long.

4 He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.

5 He has laid siege against me, encircling me with bitterness and hardship.

6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those who have been dead for ages.

7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.

8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He rejects my prayer.

9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.

10 He is a bear waiting in ambush, a lion in hiding.

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

12 He strung His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.

13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.

14 I am a laughingstock to all my people, mocked by their songs all day long.

15 He filled me with bitterness, satiated me with wormwood.

16 He ground my teeth on gravel and made me cower in the dust.

17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.

18 Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the LORD.

19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison.

20 I continually remember them and have become depressed.

21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: