Book of Lamentations, Chapter 3
Lamentations 3 NASB - New American Standard BibleChapter 3 of Lamentations—New American Standard Bible (NASB)
- ¶ I am the man who has 1seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath. - He has driven me and made me walk
In 2darkness and not in light. - Surely against me He has 3turned His hand
Repeatedly all the day. - He has caused my 4flesh and my skin to waste away,
He has 5broken my bones. - He has 6besieged and encompassed me with 7bitterness and hardship.
- In 8dark places He has made me dwell,
Like those who have long been dead. - He has 9walled me in so that I cannot go out;
He has made my [a]10chain heavy. - Even when I cry out and call for help,
He 11shuts out my prayer. - He has 12blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked. - He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in secret places. - He has turned aside my ways and 13torn me to pieces;
He has made me desolate. - He 14bent His bow
And 15set me as a target for the arrow. - He made the [b]arrows of His 16quiver
To enter into my [c]inward parts. - I have become a 17laughingstock to all my people,
Their mocking 18song all the day. - He has 19filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drunk with wormwood. - He has 20broken my teeth with 21gravel;
He has made me cower in the 22dust. - My soul has been rejected 23from peace;
I have forgotten [d]happiness. - So I say, “My strength has perished,
And so has my 24hope from the LORD.” - ¶ Remember my affliction and my [e]wandering, the 25wormwood and bitterness.
- Surely 26my soul remembers
And is 27bowed down within me. - This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have 28hope. - The LORD’S 29lovingkindnesses [f]indeed never cease,
30For His compassions never fail. - They are new 31every morning;
Great is 32Your faithfulness. - “The LORD is my 33portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I 34have hope in Him.” - The LORD is good to those who 35wait for Him,
To the [g]person who 36seeks Him. - It is good that he 37waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD. - It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth. - Let him 38sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him. - Let him [h]put his mouth in the 39dust,
Perhaps there is 40hope. - Let him give his 41cheek to [i]the smiter,
Let him be filled with reproach. - For the Lord will 42not reject forever,
- For if He causes grief,
Then He will have 43compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness. - For He 44does not afflict [j]willingly
Or grieve the sons of men. - To crush under His feet
All the prisoners of the [k]land, - To [l]deprive a man of 45justice
In the presence of the Most High, - To [m]46defraud a man in his lawsuit—
Of these things the Lord does not [n]approve. - Who is [o]there who speaks and it 47comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it? - Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That [p]48both good and ill go forth? - ¶ Why should any living [q]mortal, or any man,
Offer 49complaint [r]in view of his sins? - Let us 50examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the LORD. - We 51lift up our heart [s]and hands
Toward God in heaven; - We have 52transgressed and rebelled,
You have 53not pardoned. - You have covered Yourself with 54anger
And 55pursued us;
You have slain and 56have not spared. - You have 57covered Yourself with a cloud
So that 58no prayer can pass through. - You have made us mere 59offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples. - All our enemies have 60opened their mouths against us.
- 61Panic and pitfall have befallen us,
Devastation and destruction; - My [t]62eyes run down with streams of water
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. - My eyes pour down 63unceasingly,
Without stopping, - Until the LORD 64looks down
And sees from heaven. - My eyes bring pain to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city. - My enemies 65without cause
Hunted me down 66like a bird; - They have silenced [u]me 67in the pit
And have [v]68placed a stone on me. - Waters flowed 69over my head;
I said, “I am cut off!” - I 70called on Your name, O LORD,
Out of the lowest pit. - You have 71heard my voice,
“72Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,
From my cry for help.” - You 73drew near when I called on You;
You said, “74Do not fear!” - O Lord, You 75have pleaded my soul’s cause;
You have 76redeemed my life. - O LORD, You have 77seen my oppression;
78Judge my case. - You have seen all their vengeance,
All their 79schemes against me. - You have heard their 80reproach, O LORD,
All their schemes against me. - The 81lips of my assailants and their whispering
Are against me all day long. - Look on their 82sitting and their rising;
83I am their mocking song. - You will 84recompense them, O LORD,
According to the work of their hands. - You will give them [w]85hardness of heart,
Your curse will be on them. - You will 86pursue them in anger and destroy them
From under the 87heavens of the LORD!
FOOTNOTES
- ^ Lit bronze piece
- ^ Lit sons
- ^ Lit kidneys
- ^ Lit good
- ^ Or bitterness
- ^ Or that we are not consumed
- ^ Lit soul
- ^ Lit give
- ^ Lit his
- ^ Lit from His heart
- ^ Or earth
- ^ Or turn aside a man’s case
- ^ Lit make crooked
- ^ Lit see
- ^ Lit this
- ^ Lit the evil things and the good
- ^ Or human being
- ^ Or on the basis of
- ^ Lit toward our
- ^ Lit eye brings
- ^ Lit my life
- ^ Or cast stones
- ^ Or insolence
REFERENCES
- ^ Ps 88:7, 15, 16
- ^ Jb 30:26; Is 59:9; Je 4:23
- ^ Ps 38:2; Is 5:25
- ^ Ps 31:9, 10; 38:2-8; 102:3-5
- ^ Ps 51:8; Is 38:13
- ^ Jb 19:8
- ^ Je 23:15; La 3:19
- ^ Ps 88:5, 6; 143:3
- ^ Jb 3:23; 19:8
- ^ Je 40:4
- ^ Jb 30:20; Ps 22:2
- ^ Is 63:17; Ho 2:6
- ^ Jb 16:12, 13; Je 15:3; Ho 6:1
- ^ Ps 7:12; La 2:4
- ^ Jb 6:4; 7:20; Ps 38:2
- ^ Je 5:16
- ^ Ps 22:6, 7; 123:4; Je 20:7
- ^ Jb 30:9; La 3:63
- ^ Je 9:15
- ^ Ps 3:7; 58:6
- ^ Pr 20:17
- ^ Je 6:26
- ^ Is 59:11; Je 12:12
- ^ Jb 17:15; Eze 37:11
- ^ Je 9:15; La 3:5, 15
- ^ Jb 21:6
- ^ Ps 42:5, 6, 11; 43:5; 44:25
- ^ Ps 130:7
- ^ Ps 78:38; Je 3:12; 30:11
- ^ Ml 3:6
- ^ Is 33:2; Zp 3:5
- ^ Heb 10:23
- ^ Ps 16:5; 73:26
- ^ Ps 33:18
- ^ Ps 27:14; Is 25:9
- ^ Is 26:9
- ^ Ps 37:7
- ^ Je 15:17
- ^ Jb 16:15; 40:4
- ^ Je 31:17
- ^ Jb 16:10; Is 50:6
- ^ Ps 77:7; 94:14; Is 54:7-10
- ^ Ps 78:38; 106:43-45; Ho 11:8
- ^ Ps 119:67, 71, 75; Eze 33:11; Heb 12:10
- ^ Ps 140:12; Pr 17:15
- ^ Je 22:3; Hab 1:13
- ^ Ps 33:9-11
- ^ Jb 2:10; Is 45:7; Je 32:42
- ^ Je 30:15; Mc 7:9; Heb 12:5, 6
- ^ Ps 119:59; 139:23, 24; 2Co 13:5
- ^ Ps 25:1; 28:2; 141:2
- ^ Ne 9:26; Je 14:20; Da 9:5
- ^ 2Ki 24:4; Je 5:7, 9
- ^ La 2:21
- ^ Ps 83:15; La 3:66
- ^ La 2:2, 17, 21
- ^ Ps 97:2
- ^ La 3:8; Zc 7:13
- ^ 1Co 4:13
- ^ Jb 30:9, 10; Ps 22:6-8; La 2:16
- ^ Is 24:17, 18; Je 48:43, 44
- ^ Ps 119:136; Je 9:1, 18; La 1:16; 2:11, 18
- ^ Ps 77:2; Je 14:17
- ^ Ps 80:14; Is 63:15; La 5:1
- ^ Ps 35:7, 19
- ^ 1Sa 26:20; Ps 11:1; 124:7
- ^ Je 37:16; 38:6, 9
- ^ Da 6:17
- ^ Ps 69:2; Jon 2:3-5
- ^ Ps 130:1; Jon 2:2
- ^ Jb 34:28
- ^ Ps 55:1
- ^ Ps 145:18
- ^ Is 41:10, 14
- ^ Je 50:34
- ^ Ps 34:22
- ^ Je 18:19, 20
- ^ Ps 26:1; 43:1
- ^ Je 11:19
- ^ Ps 74:18; 89:50; La 5:1; Zp 2:8
- ^ Ps 59:7, 12; 140:3; Eze 36:3
- ^ Ps 139:2
- ^ Jb 30:9; La 3:14
- ^ Ps 28:4; Je 51:6, 24, 56
- ^ Ex 14:8; De 2:30; Is 6:10
- ^ La 3:43
- ^ Ps 8:3
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