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: