Lamentations 3:1-66 NLT

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