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Lamentations 3
New International Reader's Version
Lamentations 3
New International Reader's Version
3 I am a man who has suffered greatly.
The Lord has used the Babylonians
to punish my people.
2 He has driven me away. He has made me walk
in darkness instead of light.
3 He has turned his powerful hand against me.
He has done it again and again, all day long.
4 He has worn out my body.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has surrounded me and attacked me.
He has made me suffer bitterly.
He has made things hard for me.
6 He has made me live in darkness
like those who are dead and gone.
7 He has built walls around me, so I can’t escape.
He has put heavy chains on me.
8 I call out and cry for help.
But he won’t listen to me when I pray.
9 He has put up a stone wall to block my way.
He has made my paths crooked.
10 He has been like a bear waiting to attack me.
He has been like a lion hiding in the bushes.
11 He has dragged me off the path.
He has torn me to pieces.
And he has left me helpless.
12 He has gotten his bow ready to use.
He has shot his arrows at me.
13 The arrows from his bag
have gone through my heart.
14 My people laugh at me all the time.
They sing and make fun of me all day long.
15 The Lord has made my life bitter.
He has made me suffer bitterly.
16 He made me chew stones that broke my teeth.
He has walked all over me in the dust.
17 I have lost all hope of ever having any peace.
I’ve forgotten what good times are like.
18 So I say, “My glory has faded away.
My hope in the Lord is gone.”
19 I remember how I suffered and wandered.
I remember how bitter my life was.
20 I remember it very well.
My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.
21 But here is something else I remember.
And it gives me hope.
22 The Lord loves us very much.
So we haven’t been completely destroyed.
His loving concern never fails.
23 His great love is new every morning.
Lord, how faithful you are!
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is everything I will ever need.
So I will put my hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who put their hope in him.
He is good to those who look to him.
26 It is good when people wait quietly
for the Lord to save them.
27 It is good for a man to carry a heavy load of suffering
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone and not say anything.
The Lord has placed that load on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust.
There might still be hope for him.
30 Let him turn his cheek toward those who would slap him.
Let him be filled with shame.
31 The Lord doesn’t turn his back
on people forever.
32 He might bring suffering.
But he will also show loving concern.
How great his faithful love is!
33 He doesn’t want to bring pain
or suffering to anyone.
34 Every time people crush prisoners under their feet,
the Lord knows all about it.
35 When people refuse to give someone what they should,
the Most High God knows it.
36 When people don’t treat someone fairly,
the Lord knows it.
37 Suppose people order something to happen.
It won’t happen unless the Lord has planned it.
38 Troubles and good things alike come to people
because the Most High God has commanded them to come.
39 A person who is still alive shouldn’t blame God
when God punishes them for their sins.
40 Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living.
Let’s return to the Lord.
41 Let’s lift up our hands to God in heaven.
Let’s pray to him with all our hearts.
42 Let’s say, “We have sinned.
We’ve refused to obey you.
And you haven’t forgiven us.
43 “You have covered yourself with the cloud of your anger.
You have chased us.
You have killed us without pity.
44 You have covered yourself with the cloud of your anger.
Our prayers can’t get through to you.
45 You have made us become like trash and garbage
among the nations.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths wide
to swallow us up.
47 We are terrified and trapped.
We are broken and destroyed.”
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes.
That’s because my people are destroyed.
49 Tears will never stop flowing from my eyes.
My eyes can’t get any rest.
50 I’ll weep until the Lord looks down from heaven.
I’ll cry until he notices my tears.
51 What I see brings pain to my spirit.
All the women of my city are mourning.
52 Those who were my enemies for no reason at all
hunted me down as if I were a bird.
53 They tried to end my life
by throwing me into a deep pit.
They threw stones down at me.
54 The water rose and covered my head.
I thought I was going to die.
55 Lord, I called out to you.
I called out from the bottom of the pit.
56 I prayed, “Please don’t close your ears
to my cry for help.”
And you heard my appeal.
57 You came near when I called out to you.
You said, “Do not be afraid.”
58 Lord, you stood up for me in court.
You saved my life and set me free.
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong things
people have done to me.
Stand up for me again!
60 You have seen how my enemies
have tried to get even with me.
You know all about their plans against me.
61 Lord, you have heard them laugh at me.
You know all about their plans against me.
62 You have heard my enemies
whispering among themselves.
They speak against me all day long.
63 Just look at them sitting and standing there!
They sing and make fun of me.
64 Lord, pay them back.
Punish them for what their hands have done.
65 Cover their minds with a veil.
Put a curse on them!
66 Lord, get angry with them and hunt them down.
Wipe them off the face of the earth.
Lamentations 3
New International Version
Lamentations 3
New International Version
3 [a]I am the man who has seen affliction(A)
by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness(C) rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me(D)
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(E)
and has broken my bones.(F)
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness(G) and hardship.(H)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.(I)
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(J)
he has weighed me down with chains.(K)
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,(L)
he shuts out my prayer.(M)
9 He has barred(N) my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.(O)
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion(P) in hiding,(Q)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled(R) me
and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow(S)
and made me the target(T) for his arrows.(U)
13 He pierced(V) my heart
with arrows from his quiver.(W)
14 I became the laughingstock(X) of all my people;(Y)
they mock me in song(Z) all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and given me gall to drink.(AA)
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;(AB)
he has trampled me in the dust.(AC)
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”(AD)
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness(AE) and the gall.(AF)
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast(AG) within me.(AH)
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love(AI) we are not consumed,(AJ)
for his compassions never fail.(AK)
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.(AL)
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;(AM)
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;(AN)
26 it is good to wait quietly(AO)
for the salvation of the Lord.(AP)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,(AQ)
for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust(AR)—
there may yet be hope.(AS)
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,(AT)
and let him be filled with disgrace.(AU)
31 For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.(AV)
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.(AW)
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.(AX)
34 To crush underfoot
all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
before the Most High,(AY)
36 to deprive them of justice—
would not the Lord see such things?(AZ)
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?(BA)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?(BB)
39 Why should the living complain
when punished for their sins?(BC)
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,(BD)
and let us return to the Lord.(BE)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven,(BF) and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled(BG)
and you have not forgiven.(BH)
43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued(BI) us;
you have slain without pity.(BJ)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud(BK)
so that no prayer(BL) can get through.(BM)
45 You have made us scum(BN) and refuse
among the nations.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
wide(BO) against us.(BP)
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,(BQ)
ruin and destruction.(BR)”
48 Streams of tears(BS) flow from my eyes(BT)
because my people are destroyed.(BU)
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
without relief,(BV)
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.(BW)
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
because of all the women of my city.
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
hunted me like a bird.(BX)
53 They tried to end my life in a pit(BY)
and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,(BZ)
and I thought I was about to perish.(CA)
55 I called on your name, Lord,
from the depths(CB) of the pit.(CC)
56 You heard my plea:(CD) “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near(CE) when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”(CF)
58 You, Lord, took up my case;(CG)
you redeemed my life.(CH)
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.(CI)
Uphold my cause!(CJ)
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their plots against me.(CK)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.