Lamentations 3
3I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.H1397H7200H6040H7626H56782He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.H5090H3212H2822H2163He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.H7725H2015H3027H31174He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.H1320H5785H1086H7665H61065He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.H1129H5362H7219H85136He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.H3427H4285H4191H57697He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.H1443H3318H5178H35138And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.H2199H7768H5640H86059He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.H1443H1870H1496H5410H575310He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.H1677H693H738H456511He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.H5493H1870H6582H7760H807412He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.H1869H7198H5324H4307H267113He shot his arrows deep into my heart.H1121H827H935H362914My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.H7814H5971H5058H311715He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.H7646H4844H7301H393916He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.H1638H8127H2687H3728H66517Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.H2186H5315H2186H7965H5382H289618I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”H559H5331H8431H6H306819The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.H2142H6040H4788H3939H721920I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.H5315H2142H2142H774321Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this.H7725H3820H317622The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.H3068H2617H8552H7356H361523Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.H2319H1242H7227H53024I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”H3068H2506H559H5315H317625The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.H3068H2896H6960H5315H187526So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.H2896H3175H2342H1748H8668H306827And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline.H2896H1397H5375H5923H527128Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord’s demands.H3427H910H1826H519029Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.H5414H6310H6083H3426H861530Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies.H5414H3895H5221H7646H278131For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.H136H2186H576932Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.H3013H7355H7230H261733For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.H6031H3820H3013H1121H37634If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,H1792H7272H615H77635if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High,H5186H4941H1397H6440H594536if they twist justice in the courts—doesn’t the Lord see all these things?H5791H120H7379H136H720037Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission?H559H136H668038Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?H6310H5945H3318H7451H289639Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?H2416H120H596H1397H239940Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.H2664H2713H1870H7725H306841Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,H5375H3824H3709H410H806442“We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.H5168H6586H4784H554543“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.H5526H639H7291H2026H255044You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.H5526H6051H8605H567445You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.H7760H5501H3973H7130H597146“All our enemies have spoken out against us.H341H6475H631047We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”H6343H6354H7612H766748Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!H5869H3381H6388H4325H7667H1323H597149My tears flow endlessly; they will not stopH5869H5064H1820H201450until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.H3068H8259H7200H806451My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.H5869H5953H5315H1323H589252My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.H341H6679H6679H6833H260053They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.H6789H2416H953H3034H6854The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!”H4325H6687H7218H559H150455But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit.H7121H8034H3068H8482H95356You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!”H8085H6963H5956H241H7309H777557Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.”H7126H3117H7121H559H337258Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life.H136H7378H7379H5315H1350H241659You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord. Be my judge, and prove me right.H3068H7200H5792H8199H494160You have seen the vengeful plots my enemies have laid against me.H7200H5360H428461Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made.H8085H2781H3068H428462My enemies whisper and mutter as they plot against me all day long.H8193H6965H1902H311763Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.H5027H3427H7012H448564Pay them back, Lord, for all the evil they have done.H7725H1576H3068H4639H302765Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall on them!H5414H4044H3820H838166Chase them down in your anger, destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.H7291H8045H639H8064H3068
Lamentations 4
4How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!H2091H6004H2896H3800H8132H68H6944H8210H7218H23512See how the precious children of Jerusalem, worth their weight in fine gold, are now treated like pots of clay made by a common potter.H3368H1121H6726H5537H6337H2803H2789H5035H4639H3027H33353Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children’s cries, like ostriches in the desert.H8577H2502H7699H3243H1482H1323H5971H393H3283H40574The parched tongues of their little ones stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them.H3956H3243H1692H2441H6772H5768H7592H3899H65665The people who once ate the richest foods now beg in the streets for anything they can get. Those who once wore the finest clothes now search the garbage dumps for food.H398H4574H8074H2351H539H8438H2263H8306The guilt of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and no hand offered help.H5771H1323H5971H1431H2403H5467H2015H7281H3027H23427Our princes once glowed with health—brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels.H5139H2141H7950H6705H2461H119H6106H6443H1508H56018But now their faces are blacker than soot. No one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin sticks to their bones; it is as dry and hard as wood.H8389H2821H7815H5234H2351H5785H6821H6106H3001H60869Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.H2491H2719H2896H2491H7458H1992H2100H1856H8570H770410Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.H3027H7362H802H1310H3206H1262H7667H1323H597111But now the anger of the Lord is satisfied. His fierce anger has been poured out. He started a fire in Jerusalem that burned the city to its foundations.H3068H3615H2534H8210H2740H639H3341H784H6726H398H324712Not a king in all the earth—no one in all the world—would have believed that an enemy could march through the gates of Jerusalem.H4428H776H3427H8398H539H6862H341H935H8179H338913Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.H2403H5030H5771H3548H8210H1818H6662H713014They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them.H5128H5787H2351H1351H1818H3201H3808H5060H383015“Get away!” the people shouted at them. “You’re defiled! Don’t touch us!” So they fled to distant lands and wandered among foreign nations, but none would let them stay.H7121H5493H2931H5493H5493H5060H5132H5128H559H1471H3254H148116The Lord himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.H6440H3068H2505H3254H5027H5375H6440H3548H2603H220517We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.H5869H3615H1892H5833H6836H6822H1471H346718We couldn’t go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end was near; our days were numbered. We were doomed!H6679H6806H3212H7339H7093H7126H3117H4390H7093H93519Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight. If we fled to the mountains, they found us. If we hid in the wilderness, they were waiting for us there.H7291H7031H5404H8064H1814H2022H693H405720Our king—the Lord’s anointed, the very life of our nation—was caught in their snares. We had thought that his shadow would protect us against any nation on earth!H7307H639H4899H3068H3920H7825H559H6738H2421H147121Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz, O people of Edom? But you, too, must drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger. You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.H7797H8055H1323H123H3427H776H5780H3563H5674H7937H616822O beautiful Jerusalem, your punishment will end; you will soon return from exile. But Edom, your punishment is just beginning; soon your many sins will be exposed.H5771H8552H1323H6726H3254H1540H6485H5771H1323H123H1540H2403
Lamentations 5
5Lord, remember what has happened to us. See how we have been disgraced!H2142H3068H5027H7200H27812Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.H5159H2015H2114H1004H52373We are orphaned and fatherless. Our mothers are widowed.H3490H369H1H517H4904We have to pay for water to drink, and even firewood is expensive.H8354H4325H3701H6086H935H42425Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted but are given no rest.H6677H7291H3021H51176We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive.H5414H3027H4714H804H7646H38997Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—and we are suffering the punishment they deserved!H1H2398H369H5445H57718Slaves have now become our masters; there is no one left to rescue us.H5650H4910H6561H30279We hunt for food at the risk of our lives, for violence rules the countryside.H935H3899H5315H6440H2719H405710The famine has blackened our skin as though baked in an oven.H5785H3648H8574H6440H2152H745811Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem and the young girls in all the towns of Judah.H6031H802H6726H1330H5892H306312Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs, and our elders are treated with contempt.H8269H8518H3027H6440H2205H192113Young men are led away to work at millstones, and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood.H5375H970H2911H5288H3782H608614The elders no longer sit in the city gates; the young men no longer dance and sing.H2205H7673H8179H970H505815Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.H4885H3820H7673H4234H2015H6016The garlands have fallen from our heads. Weep for us because we have sinned.H5850H5307H7218H188H239817Our hearts are sick and weary, and our eyes grow dim with tears.H3820H1739H5869H282118For Jerusalem is empty and desolate, a place haunted by jackals.H2022H6726H8074H7776H198019But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation.H3068H3427H5769H3678H1755H175520Why do you continue to forget us? Why have you abandoned us for so long?H7911H5331H5800H753H311721Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!H7725H3068H7725H2318H3117H692422Or have you utterly rejected us? Are you angry with us still?H3988H3988H3966H7107
Dublin, OH
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