Lam 3 | NASB2020 | STEP | I am the man who has seen misery Because of the rod of His wrath .

Lamentations 3

Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Misery

1 I am the man who has ^aseen misery
Because of the rod of His wrath.
2 He has driven me and made me walk
In ^bdarkness and not in light.
3 Indeed, He has ^cturned His hand against me
Repeatedly all the day.
4 He has consumed my ^dflesh and my skin,
He has ^ebroken my bones.
5 He has ^{▼▼Lit built against
,} ^gbesieged and surrounded me with ^{▼▼Lit poison
,} ⁱbitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me live in ^jdark places,
Like those who have long been dead.
7 He has ^kwalled me in so that I cannot go out;
He has made my ^{▼▼Lit bronze piece
,} ^mchain heavy.
8 Even when I cry out and call for help,
He ⁿshuts out my prayer.
9 He has ^oblocked my ways with cut stone;
He has twisted my paths.
10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in secret places.
11 He has made my ways deviate, and ^ptorn me to pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He ^qbent His bow
And ^rtook aim at me as a target for the arrow.
13 He made the ^{▼▼Lit sons}arrows of His ^tquiver
Enter my ^{▼▼Lit kidneys}inward parts.
14 I have become a ^vlaughingstock to all my people,
Their ^wsong of ridicule all the day.
15 He has ^xfilled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink plenty of wormwood.
16 He has also ^ymade my teeth grind with ^zgravel;
He has made me cower in the ^aadust.
17 My soul has been excluded ^abfrom peace;
I have forgotten ^{▼▼Lit good}happiness.
18 So I say, “My ^{▼▼Or splendor}strength has failed,
And so has my ^aehope from the Lord.”

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

19 Remember my misery and my homelessness, the ^afwormwood and ^{▼▼Lit poison}bitterness.
20 ^ahMy soul certainly remembers,
And ^{▼▼Or bows down}is ^ajbent over within me.
21 I recall this to my mind,
Therefore I ^{▼▼Lit have hope
,} ^alwait.
22 ^{▼▼As in ancient versions; MT It is...mercy that we do not end}The Lord’s ^anacts of mercy indeed do not end,
^aoFor His compassions do not fail.
23 They are new ^apevery morning;
Great is ^aqYour faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my ^arportion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I ^{▼▼Or hope in
,} ^atwait for Him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who ^{▼▼Or hope in
,} ^avawait Him,
To the ^{▼▼Lit soul}person who ^axseeks Him.
26 It is good that he ^aywaits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him ^azsit alone and keep quiet,
Since He has laid it on him.
29 Let him ^{▼▼Lit give}put his mouth in the ^bbdust;
Perhaps there is ^bchope.
30 Let him give his ^bdcheek to the one who is going to strike him;
Let him be filled with shame.
31 For the Lord will ^benot reject forever,
32 For if He causes grief,
Then He will have ^bfcompassion
In proportion to His abundant mercy.
33 For He ^bgdoes not ^{▼▼Or oppress}afflict ^{▼▼Lit from His heart}willingly
Or ^{▼▼Or torment}grieve the sons of mankind.
34 To crush under ^{▼▼Lit his}one’s feet
All the prisoners of the ^{▼▼Or earth}land,
35 To ^{▼▼Or turn aside a man’s case}deprive a man of ^bnjustice
In the presence of the Most High,
36 To ^{▼▼Lit bend
,} ^bpdefraud someone in his lawsuit--
Of these things the Lord does not ^{▼▼Lit see}approve.
37 Who is ^{▼▼Lit this}there who speaks and it ^bscomes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That ^{▼▼Lit the evil things and the good
,} ^buboth adversity and good proceed?

39 Of what can any living ^{▼▼Or human being}mortal, or any man,
^bwComplain ^{▼▼Or on the basis of}in view of his sins?
40 Let’s ^byexamine and search out our ways,
And let’s return to the Lord.
41 We ^bzraise our heart ^{▼▼Lit toward our}and hands
Toward God in heaven;
42 We have ^cbdone wrong and rebelled;
You have ^ccnot pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with ^cdanger
And ^cepursued us;
You have slain and ^cfhave not spared.
44 You have ^cgveiled Yourself with a cloud
So that ^chno prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us mere ^cirefuse and rubbish
In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies have ^cjopened their mouths against us.
47 ^ckPanic and pitfall have come upon us,
Devastation and destruction;
48 My ^{▼▼Lit eye goes down
,} ^cmeyes run down with streams of water
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes flow ^cnunceasingly,
Without stopping,
50 Until the Lord ^colooks down
And sees from heaven.
51 My eyes bring pain to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies ^cpwithout reason
Hunted me down ^cqlike a bird;
53 They have silenced ^{▼▼Lit my life}me ^csin the pit
And have ^{▼▼Or thrown a stone
,} ^cuthrown stones on me.
54 Waters flowed ^cvover my head;
I said, “I am ^{▼▼Or destroyed}cut off!”
55 I ^cxcalled on Your name, Lord,
Out of the lowest pit.
56 You have ^cyheard my voice,
“ ^czDo not cover Your ear from my plea for relief,
From my cry for help.”
57 You ^dacame near on the day I called to You;
You said, “ ^dbDo not fear!”
58 Lord, You ^dchave pleaded my soul’s cause;
You have ^ddredeemed my life.
59 Lord, You have ^deseen my oppression;
^dfJudge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their ^dgschemes against me.
61 You have heard their ^dhreproach, Lord,
All their schemes against me.
62 The ^dilips of my assailants and their talk
Are against me all day long.
63 Look at their ^{▼▼I.e., daily activities
,} ^dksitting and their rising;
^dlI am their mocking song.
64 You will ^dmrepay them, Lord,
In accordance with the work of their hands.
65 You will give them ^{▼▼Or insanity
,} ^doshamelessness of heart,
Your curse will be on them.
66 You will ^dppursue them in anger and eliminate them
From under the ^dqheavens of the Lord!