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Lamentations 3

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¹ ⓐ I am the man who has seen affliction under theⓑ rod of his wrath;

² he has driven and brought me ⓒinto darkness without any light;

³ surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long.

⁴ He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; ⓓhe has broken my bones;

⁵ ⓔ he has besieged and enveloped me withⓕ bitterness and tribulation;

⁶ ⓖ he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.

⁷ ⓗ He has walled me about so thatⓘ I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;

⁸ thoughⓙ I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;

⁹ ⓚ he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked.

¹⁰ ⓛ He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding;

¹¹ ⓜ he turned aside my steps andⓝ tore me to pieces; ⓞhe has made me desolate;

¹² ⓟ he bent his bowⓠ and set me as a target for his arrow.

¹³ He drove into my kidneys ⓡthe arrows of his quiver;

¹⁴ ⓢ I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, ⓣthe object of their taunts all day long.

¹⁵ ⓤ He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me withⓥ wormwood.

¹⁶ ⓦ He has made my teeth grind on gravel, andⓧ made me cower in ashes;

¹⁷ my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness[1] is;

¹⁸ ⓨ so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”

¹⁹ ⓩ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, ⓐthe wormwood andⓑ the gall!

²⁰ My soul continually remembers it ⓒand is bowed down within me.

²¹ But this I call to mind, andⓓ therefore I have hope:

²² ⓔ The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;[2] ⓕhis mercies never come to an end;

²³ they are newⓖ every morning; ⓗgreat is your faithfulness.

²⁴ ⓘ “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, ⓙ“therefore I will hope in him.”

²⁵ The LORD is good to those whoⓚ wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

²⁶ ⓛ It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

²⁷ ⓜ It is good for a man that he bear the yokeⓝ in his youth.

²⁸ Let himⓞ sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;

²⁹ ⓟ let him put his mouth in the dust — there may yet be hope;

³⁰ ⓠ let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.

³¹ ⓡ For the Lord will not cast off forever,

³² but, though heⓢ cause grief,ⓣ he will have compassion ⓤaccording to the abundance of his steadfast love;

³³ ⓥ for he does not afflict from his heart orⓦ grieve the children of men.

³⁴ To crush underfoot allⓧ the prisoners of the earth,

³⁵ ⓨ to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High,

³⁶ to subvert a man in his lawsuit, ⓩthe Lord does not approve.

³⁷ ⓐ Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

³⁸ ⓑ Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

³⁹ ⓒ Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?

⁴⁰ Let us test and examine our ways, ⓓand return to the LORD!

⁴¹ ⓔ Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:

⁴² ⓕ “We have transgressed andⓖ rebelled, and you have not forgiven.

⁴³ “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, ⓗkilling without pity;

⁴⁴ ⓘ you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.

⁴⁵ ⓙ You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.

⁴⁶ ⓚ “All our enemies open their mouths against us;

⁴⁷ ⓛ panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation andⓜ destruction;

⁴⁸ ⓝ my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

⁴⁹ ⓞ “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite,

⁵⁰ ⓟ until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees;

⁵¹ my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

⁵² ⓠ “I have been huntedⓡ like a bird by those who were my enemiesⓢ without cause;

⁵³ ⓣ they flung me alive into the pit ⓤand cast stones on me;

⁵⁴ ⓥ water closed over my head; I said,ⓦ ‘I am lost.’

⁵⁵ ⓧ “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit;

⁵⁶ ⓨ you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’

⁵⁷ ⓩ You came near when I called on you; you said,ⓐ ‘Do not fear!’

⁵⁹ You have seen the wrong done to me,ⓔ O LORD; judge my cause.

⁶⁰ You have seen all their vengeance, allⓕ their plots against me.

⁶¹ ⓖ “You have heard their taunts, O LORD, allⓗ their plots against me.

⁶² The lips and thoughtsⓘ of my assailants are against me all the day long.

⁶³ ⓙ Behold their sitting and their rising; ⓚI am the object of their taunts.

⁶⁴ ⓛ “You will repay them,[3] O LORD, ⓜaccording to the work of their hands.

⁶⁵ You will give them[4] dullness of heart; your curse will be[5] on them.

⁶⁶ You will pursue them[6] in anger andⓝ destroy them from underⓞ your heavens, O LORD.”[7]

#	ESV
1	ⓐ I am the man who has seen affliction under theⓑ rod of his wrath;
2	he has driven and brought me ⓒinto darkness without any light;
3	surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long.
4	He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; ⓓhe has broken my bones;
5	ⓔ he has besieged and enveloped me withⓕ bitterness and tribulation;
6	ⓖ he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.
7	ⓗ He has walled me about so thatⓘ I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;
8	thoughⓙ I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;
9	ⓚ he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked.
10	ⓛ He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding;
11	ⓜ he turned aside my steps andⓝ tore me to pieces; ⓞhe has made me desolate;
12	ⓟ he bent his bowⓠ and set me as a target for his arrow.
13	He drove into my kidneys ⓡthe arrows of his quiver;
14	ⓢ I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, ⓣthe object of their taunts all day long.
15	ⓤ He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me withⓥ wormwood.
16	ⓦ He has made my teeth grind on gravel, andⓧ made me cower in ashes;
17	my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness[1] is;
18	ⓨ so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”
19	ⓩ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, ⓐthe wormwood andⓑ the gall!
20	My soul continually remembers it ⓒand is bowed down within me.
21	But this I call to mind, andⓓ therefore I have hope:
22	ⓔ The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;[2] ⓕhis mercies never come to an end;
23	they are newⓖ every morning; ⓗgreat is your faithfulness.
24	ⓘ “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, ⓙ“therefore I will hope in him.”
25	The LORD is good to those whoⓚ wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26	ⓛ It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27	ⓜ It is good for a man that he bear the yokeⓝ in his youth.
28	Let himⓞ sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;
29	ⓟ let him put his mouth in the dust — there may yet be hope;
30	ⓠ let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.
31	ⓡ For the Lord will not cast off forever,
32	but, though heⓢ cause grief,ⓣ he will have compassion ⓤaccording to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33	ⓥ for he does not afflict from his heart orⓦ grieve the children of men.
34	To crush underfoot allⓧ the prisoners of the earth,
35	ⓨ to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High,
36	to subvert a man in his lawsuit, ⓩthe Lord does not approve.
37	ⓐ Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?
38	ⓑ Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?
39	ⓒ Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40	Let us test and examine our ways, ⓓand return to the LORD!
41	ⓔ Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
42	ⓕ “We have transgressed andⓖ rebelled, and you have not forgiven.
43	“You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, ⓗkilling without pity;
44	ⓘ you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.
45	ⓙ You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.
46	ⓚ “All our enemies open their mouths against us;
47	ⓛ panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation andⓜ destruction;
48	ⓝ my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49	ⓞ “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite,
50	ⓟ until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees;
51	my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city.
52	ⓠ “I have been huntedⓡ like a bird by those who were my enemiesⓢ without cause;
53	ⓣ they flung me alive into the pit ⓤand cast stones on me;
54	ⓥ water closed over my head; I said,ⓦ ‘I am lost.’
55	ⓧ “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit;
56	ⓨ you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’
57	ⓩ You came near when I called on you; you said,ⓐ ‘Do not fear!’
58	“You haveⓑ taken up my cause,ⓒ O Lord; you haveⓓ redeemed my life.
59	You have seen the wrong done to me,ⓔ O LORD; judge my cause.
60	You have seen all their vengeance, allⓕ their plots against me.
61	ⓖ “You have heard their taunts, O LORD, allⓗ their plots against me.
62	The lips and thoughtsⓘ of my assailants are against me all the day long.
63	ⓙ Behold their sitting and their rising; ⓚI am the object of their taunts.
64	ⓛ “You will repay them,[3] O LORD, ⓜaccording to the work of their hands.
65	You will give them[4] dullness of heart; your curse will be[5] on them.
66	You will pursue them[6] in anger andⓝ destroy them from underⓞ your heavens, O LORD.”[7]

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