Lamentations 3:1-21 ▼

1 I am the man that has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He has led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.

3 Surely against me he turns his hand again and again all the day.

4 My flesh and my skin he has made old; he has broken my bones.

5 He has built against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

6 He has made me to dwell in dark places, like those that have been long dead.

7 He has walled me in, so I can't escape; he has made my chains heavy.

8 Yes, when I cry, and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.

9 He has walled up my ways with cut stone; he has made my paths crooked.

10 He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in hiding.

11 He has obstructed my path, and torn me in pieces; he has made me desolate.

12 He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 He has caused the arrows of his quiver to pierce my inward parts.

14 I have become a laughingstock to all peoples, and their song all the day.

15 He has filled me with bitterness, he has given me in full measure wormwood.

16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel; he has pressed me down in the dust.

17 You have removed my soul far away from peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.

18 And I said, |My strength and my hope has perished from the LORD.|

19 Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul considers them, and is depressed.

21 But this I call to my mind; therefore I have hope: