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The Lamentations of Jeremiah

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

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- Chapter 3 -

1
I (a) am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
2
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
3
Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
4
He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
5
He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6
He has made me dwell in darkness like those 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 shuts out my prayer.
9
He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
10
He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
11
He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
12
He bent 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; they mock me in song all day long.
15
He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
16
He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
17
My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18
So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

19
Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
20
Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
21
Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22
Because of the loving devotion (b) of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
23
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
24
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
25
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
26
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27
It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
28
Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
29
Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
30
Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
31
For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
32
Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
33
For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
34
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
35
to deny a man justice before the Most High,
36
to subvert a man in his lawsuit— of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

37
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
38
Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
39
Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
40
Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
41
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
42
“We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
43
You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
44
You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
45
You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
46
All our enemies open their mouths against us.
47
Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
48
Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49
My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
50
until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
51
My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
52
Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
53
They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
54
The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
55
I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
56
You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
57
You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
58
You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
59
You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
60
You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
61
O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
62
the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
63
When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
64
You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
65
Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
66
You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.

Footnotes

(a)3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, each 3–verse stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
(b)3:22 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant.
1
I am the man who 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 he turns his hand against me again and again all day long.
4
He has made my flesh and my skin old. He has broken my bones.
5
He has built against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6
He has made me dwell in dark places, as those who have been long dead.
7
He has walled me about, so that I can’t go out. He has made my chain 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 turned away my path, and pulled 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 shafts of his quiver to enter into my kidneys.
14
I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.
15
He has filled me with bitterness. He has stuffed me with wormwood.
16
He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.
17
You have removed my soul far away from peace. I forgot prosperity.
18
I said, “My strength has perished, along with my expectation from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

19
Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.
20
My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me.
21
This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.
22
It is because of The LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.
23
They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
24
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
25
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26
It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
27
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28
Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it on him.
29
Let him put his mouth in the dust, if it is so that there may be hope.
30
Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him. Let him be filled full of reproach.
31
For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32
For though he causes grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
33
For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.
34
To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
35
to turn away the right of a man before the face of the Most High,
36
to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord doesn’t approve.

God’s Justice

37
Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
38
Doesn’t evil and good come out of the mouth of the Most High?
39
Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
40
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
41
Let’s lift up our heart with our hands to God (a) in the heavens.
42
“We have transgressed and have rebelled. You have not pardoned.
43
“You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied.
44
You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.
45
You have made us an off-scouring and refuse in the middle of the peoples.
46
“All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.
47
Terror and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.”
48
My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49
My eye pours down and doesn’t cease, without any intermission,
50
until the LORD looks down, and sees from heaven.
51
My eye affects my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.
52
They have chased me relentlessly like a bird, those who are my enemies without cause.
53
They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone on me.
54
Waters flowed over my head. I said, “I am cut off.”
55
I called on your name, LORD, out of the lowest dungeon.
56
You heard my voice: “Don’t hide your ear from my sighing, and my cry.”
57
You came near in the day that I called on you. You said, “Don’t be afraid.”
58
Lord, you have pleaded the causes of my soul. You have redeemed my life.
59
LORD, you have seen my wrong. Judge my cause.
60
You have seen all their vengeance and all their plans against me.
61
You have heard their reproach, LORD, and all their plans against me,
62
the lips of those that rose up against me, and their plots against me all day long.
63
You see their sitting down and their rising up. I am their song.
64
You will pay them back, LORD, according to the work of their hands.
65
You will give them hardness of heart, your curse to them.
66
You will pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD.

Footnotes

(a)3:41 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
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