Lamentations 3 : 1 (NLT)
I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the LORD's anger.
Lamentations 3 : 2 (NLT)
He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.
Lamentations 3 : 3 (NLT)
He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
Lamentations 3 : 4 (NLT)
He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.
Lamentations 3 : 5 (NLT)
He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.
Lamentations 3 : 6 (NLT)
He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.
Lamentations 3 : 7 (NLT)
He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.
Lamentations 3 : 8 (NLT)
And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.
Lamentations 3 : 9 (NLT)
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.
Lamentations 3 : 10 (NLT)
He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.
Lamentations 3 : 11 (NLT)
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.
Lamentations 3 : 12 (NLT)
He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
Lamentations 3 : 13 (NLT)
He shot his arrows deep into my heart.
Lamentations 3 : 14 (NLT)
My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.
Lamentations 3 : 15 (NLT)
He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.
Lamentations 3 : 16 (NLT)
He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.
Lamentations 3 : 17 (NLT)
Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
Lamentations 3 : 18 (NLT)
I cry out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the LORD is lost!"
Lamentations 3 : 19 (NLT)
The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.
Lamentations 3 : 20 (NLT)
I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.
Lamentations 3 : 21 (NLT)
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
Lamentations 3 : 22 (NLT)
The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.
Lamentations 3 : 23 (NLT)
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lamentations 3 : 24 (NLT)
I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"
Lamentations 3 : 25 (NLT)
The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
Lamentations 3 : 26 (NLT)
So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.
Lamentations 3 : 27 (NLT)
And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline:
Lamentations 3 : 28 (NLT)
Let them sit alone in silence beneath the LORD's demands.
Lamentations 3 : 29 (NLT)
Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.
Lamentations 3 : 30 (NLT)
Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies.
Lamentations 3 : 31 (NLT)
For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.
Lamentations 3 : 32 (NLT)
Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
Lamentations 3 : 33 (NLT)
For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
Lamentations 3 : 34 (NLT)
If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
Lamentations 3 : 35 (NLT)
if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High,
Lamentations 3 : 36 (NLT)
if they twist justice in the courts-- doesn't the Lord see all these things?
Lamentations 3 : 37 (NLT)
Who can command things to happen without the Lord's permission?
Lamentations 3 : 38 (NLT)
Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?
Lamentations 3 : 39 (NLT)
Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?
Lamentations 3 : 40 (NLT)
Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD.
Lamentations 3 : 41 (NLT)
Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,
Lamentations 3 : 42 (NLT)
"We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.
Lamentations 3 : 43 (NLT)
"You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.
Lamentations 3 : 44 (NLT)
You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.
Lamentations 3 : 45 (NLT)
You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.
Lamentations 3 : 46 (NLT)
"All our enemies have spoken out against us.
Lamentations 3 : 47 (NLT)
We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined."
Lamentations 3 : 48 (NLT)
Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!
Lamentations 3 : 49 (NLT)
My tears flow endlessly; they will not stop
Lamentations 3 : 50 (NLT)
until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
Lamentations 3 : 51 (NLT)
My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.
Lamentations 3 : 52 (NLT)
My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.
Lamentations 3 : 53 (NLT)
They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.
Lamentations 3 : 54 (NLT)
The water rose over my head, and I cried out, "This is the end!"
Lamentations 3 : 55 (NLT)
But I called on your name, LORD, from deep within the pit.
Lamentations 3 : 56 (NLT)
You heard me when I cried, "Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!"
Lamentations 3 : 57 (NLT)
Yes, you came when I called; you told me, "Do not fear."
Lamentations 3 : 58 (NLT)
Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3 : 59 (NLT)
You have seen the wrong they have done to me, LORD. Be my judge, and prove me right.
Lamentations 3 : 60 (NLT)
You have seen the vengeful plots my enemies have laid against me.
Lamentations 3 : 61 (NLT)
LORD, you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made.
Lamentations 3 : 62 (NLT)
My enemies whisper and mutter as they plot against me all day long.
Lamentations 3 : 63 (NLT)
Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.
Lamentations 3 : 64 (NLT)
Pay them back, LORD, for all the evil they have done.
Lamentations 3 : 65 (NLT)
Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall on them!
Lamentations 3 : 66 (NLT)
Chase them down in your anger, destroying them beneath the LORD's heavens.
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