Lamentations 3:1-66 GNT

[1] I am one who knows what it is to be punished by God. [2] He drove me deeper and deeper into darkness [3] And beat me again and again with merciless blows. [4] He has left my flesh open and raw, and has broken my bones. [5] He has shut me in a prison of misery and anguish. [6] He has forced me to live in the stagnant darkness of death. [7] He has bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape. [8] I cry aloud for help, but God refuses to listen; [9] I stagger as I walk; stone walls block me wherever I turn. [10] He waited for me like a bear; he pounced on me like a lion. [11] He chased me off the road, tore me to pieces, and left me. [12] He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows. [13] He shot his arrows deep into my body. [14] People laugh at me all day long; I am a joke to them all. [15] Bitter suffering is all he has given me for food and drink. [16] He rubbed my face in the ground and broke my teeth on rocks. [17] I have forgotten what health and peace and happiness are. [18] I do not have much longer to live; my hope in the LORD is gone. [19] The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison. [20] I think of it constantly, and my spirit is depressed. [21] Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: [22] The LORD's unfailing love and mercy still continue, [23] Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. [24] The LORD is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. [25] The LORD is good to everyone who trusts in him, [26] So it is best for us to wait in patience-to wait for him to save us- [27] And it is best to learn this patience in our youth. [28] When we suffer, we should sit alone in silent patience; [29] We should bow in submission, for there may still be hope. [30] Though beaten and insulted, we should accept it all. [31] The Lord is merciful and will not reject us forever. [32] He may bring us sorrow, but his love for us is sure and strong. [33] He takes no pleasure in causing us grief or pain. [34] The Lord knows when our spirits are crushed in prison; [35] He knows when we are denied the rights he gave us; [36] When justice is perverted in court, he knows. [37] The will of the Lord alone is always carried out. [38] Good and evil alike take place at his command. [39] Why should we ever complain when we are punished for our sin? [40] Let us examine our ways and turn back to the LORD. [41] Let us open our hearts to God in heaven and pray, [42] "We have sinned and rebelled, and you, O LORD, have not forgiven us. [43] "You pursued us and killed us; your mercy was hidden by your anger, [44] By a cloud of fury too thick for our prayers to get through. [45] You have made us the garbage dump of the world. [46] "We are insulted and mocked by all our enemies. [47] We have been through disaster and ruin; we live in danger and fear. [48] My eyes flow with rivers of tears at the destruction of my people. [49] "My tears will pour out in a ceaseless stream [50] Until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees us. [51] My heart is grieved when I see what has happened to the women of the city. [52] "I was trapped like a bird by enemies who had no cause to hate me. [53] They threw me alive into a pit and closed the opening with a stone. [54] Water began to close over me, and I thought death was near. [55] "From the bottom of the pit, O LORD, I cried out to you, [56] And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard. [57] You answered me and told me not to be afraid. [58] "You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life. [59] Judge in my favor; you know the wrongs done against me. [60] You know how my enemies hate me and how they plot against me. [61] "You have heard them insult me, O LORD; you know all their plots. [62] All day long they talk about me and make their plans. [63] From morning till night they make fun of me. [64] "Punish them for what they have done, O LORD; [65] Curse them and fill them with despair! [66] Hunt them down and wipe them off the earth!"