Lamentations 3 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
I am the who has seen suffering under the rod of his fury.
He drove me out and made me walk in not in
Again and again, all day long, he turns his hand against me.
He has my and skin; he has shattered my bones.
He has me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me live in places like those who died long ago.
He has me in so I can't escape; he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I cry out and beg for help, he out my
He has blocked my paths with stone; he has twisted my roads into dead ends.
He is a bear lying in ambush for me, a lion hiding in the shadows.
He dragged me off my path and tore me apart; he left me in ruins.
He drew bow and made me the for
He drove the arrows from his quiver deep into my
I've become a laughingstock to all my people, the target of their all day.
He has filled me with bitterness, drenched me in
He my on gravel; he pressed my face into the dust.
I have been robbed of peace; I've forgotten what good feels like.
So I said, "My is gone, along with any hope I had from Yahweh."
Remember my suffering and my wandering — the wormwood and the
I remember it all too well, and my inside me.
But this I to mind, and because of this I still have hope:
The of Yahweh never runs out; his never come to an end.
They are every — how great is your
"Yahweh is all I have," says my soul, "and so I will put my hope in him."
Yahweh is good to those who for him, to the soul that searches for
It is good to wait in stillness for Yahweh's
It is good for a person to carry a while young.
Let him sit alone in silence when God has laid it on him.
Let him to the — there may still be hope.
Let him to the one who strikes him; let him be filled to the brim with disgrace.
Because the Lord does not reject anyone forever.
Even if he causes grief, he will show — so great is the depth of his
Because he enjoy causing people grief or pain.
When anyone crushes underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,
when anyone denies justice to a person right in front of the Most
when anyone cheats someone in a legal dispute— does the Lord not see all this?
Who can speak and make it happen if the Lord hasn't ordered it?
Don't both disaster and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Why should any living person complain when they're being for their rebellions?
Let us examine our ways and test them, and to Yahweh.
Let us up and hands to God in the heavens:
"We — we have and you, and you have not forgiven.
You wrapped yourself in anger and hunted us down; you slaughtered without mercy.
You in a cloud so that no prayer could reach you.
You've made us and refuse among the nations.
All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us.
What we got was and the trap, devastation and
Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of my
My eyes pour out tears without stopping— no break, no relief—
until Yahweh looks down and sees from the heavens.