Lamentations 3
1 ALEPH. I am a man watching my own poverty by the rod of his indignation.
I, am the man, that hath seen affliction, by the rod of his indignation;
2 ALEPH. He has driven me and led me into darkness, and not into light.
Me, hath he driven out and brought into darkness, and not light;
3 ALEPH. Against me only, he has turned and turned again his hand, all day long.
Surely, against me, doth he again and again, turn his hand all the day.
4 BETH. My skin and my flesh, he has made old; he has crushed my bones.
He hath worn out my flesh and my skin, hath broken my bones;
5 BETH. He has built all around me, and he has encircled me with gall and hardship.
He hath built up against me, and carried round me, fortifications and a trench;
6 BETH. He has gathered me into darkness, like those who are forever dead.
In dark places, hath he made me sit, like the dead of age-past times.
7 GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.
He hath walled up around me, that I cannot get out, hath weighted my fetter;
8 GHIMEL. Yet even when I cry out and beg, he excludes my prayer.
Yea, when I make outcry and implore, he hath shut out my prayer;
9 GHIMEL. He has enclosed my ways with square stones; he has subverted my paths.
He hath walled in my ways with hewn stone, my paths, hath he caused to wind back.
10 DALETH. He has become to me like a bear lying in ambush, like a lion in hiding.
A bear lying in wait, he is to me, a lion, in secret places;
11 DALETH. He has subverted my paths, and he has broken me. He has placed me in desolation.
My ways, hath he turned aside, and hath torn me in pieces, hath made me desolate;
12 DALETH. He has bent his bow, and he has positioned me like a target for his arrows.
He hath trodden his bow, and set me up, as a mark for the arrow.
13 HE. He has shot into my kidneys the daughters of his quiver.
He hath caused to enter my reins, the sons of his quiver;
14 HE. I have become a derision to all my people, their song throughout the day.
I have become a derision to all my people, their song all the day;
15 HE. He has filled me with bitterness; he has inebriated me with wormwood.
He hath sated me with bitter things, hath drenched me with wormwood.
16 VAU. And he has broken each one of my teeth; he has fed me with ashes.
And he hath crushed, with gravel-stones, my teeth, hath made me cower in ashes;
17 VAU. And my soul has been driven away from peace; I have forgotten what is good.
And thou hast thrust away from welfare, my soul, I have forgotten prosperity;
18 VAU. And I said, “My end and my hope from the Lord has perished.”
And I said, Vanished is mine endurance, even mine expectation, from Yahweh.
19 ZAIN. Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my humiliation and my fleeings, the wormwood and poison;
20 ZAIN. I will call to mind the past, and my soul shall languish within me.
Thou wilt, indeed remember, that, bowed down concerning myself, is my soul;
21 ZAIN. These recollections are in my heart; therefore, I shall hope.
This, will I bring back to my heart, therefore, will I hope.
22 HETH. By the mercies of the Lord, we are not consumed. For his compassion has not passed away.
The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, verily they are not exhausted, Verily! not at an end, are his compassions:
23 HETH. I know it at first light; great is your faithfulness.
New things for the mornings! Abundant is thy faithfulness:
24 HETH. “The Lord is my portion,” said my soul. Because of this, I will wait for him.
My portion, is Yahweh, saith my soul, For this cause, will I wait for him.
25 TETH. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.
Good is Yahweh, to them who wait for him, to the soul that will seek him;
26 TETH. It is good to stand ready in silence for the salvation of God.
Good it is—both to wait and to be silent, for the deliverance of Yahweh;
27 TETH. It is good for a man, when he has carried the yoke from his youth.
Good it is for a man, that he should bear the yoke in his youth.
28 JOD. He shall sit solitary and silent. For he has lifted it upon himself.
Let him sit alone, and keep silence, because he took it upon himself:
29 JOD. He shall place his mouth in the dirt, if perhaps there may be hope.
Let him put, in the dust, his mouth, peradventure, there is hope!
30 JOD. He shall give his cheek to those who strike him; he shall be saturated with reproaches.
Let him give, to him that smiteth him, his cheek, let him be sated with reproach.
31 CAPH. For the Lord will not rebuke forever.
Surely My Lord, will not cast off, unto times age-abiding;
32 CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.
Surely, though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses;
33 CAPH. For he has not humiliated from his heart, nor has he thrown aside the sons of men,
Surely he hath not afflicted from his heart, nor caused sorrow to the sons of men.
34 LAMED. as if to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,
To crush, under his feet, any of the prisoners of the earth;
35 LAMED. as if to turn aside the judgment of a man in the sight of the presence of the Most High,
To turn aside the right of a man, before the face of the Most High;
36 LAMED. as if to pervert a man in his judgment: the Lord does not do this.
To oppress a son of earth in his cause, My Lord, hath made no provision.
37 MEM. Who is this, who said to do what the Lord did not command?
Who was it that spake, and it was done, [when], My Lord, had not commanded?
38 MEM. Does not both misfortune and good proceed from the mouth of the Most High?
Out of the mouth of the Most High, Proceed there not misfortunes and blessing?
39 MEM. Why has a living man murmured, a man suffering for his sins?
Why should a living son of earth complain, [Let] a man [complain] because of his sins?
40 NUN. Let us examine our ways, and seek out, and return to the Lord.
Let us search out our ways, and examine them well, and let us return unto Yahweh;
41 NUN. Let us lift up our hearts, with our hands, toward the Lord in the heavens.
Let us lift up our heart, to the opened palms, to the Mighty One in the heavens;
42 NUN. We have acted sinfully, and we have provoked to wrath. About this, you are relentless.
We, have trespassed and rebelled, Thou, hast not pardoned.
43 SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.
Thou hast covered thyself with anger, and pursued us, hast slain—hast not spared;
44 SAMECH. You have set a cloud opposite you, lest our prayer pass through.
Thou hast screened thyself with the clouds, that prayer, should not pass through;
45 SAMECH. In the midst of the peoples, you have uprooted me and cast me out.
Offscouring and refuse, dost thou make us, in the midst of the peoples.
46 PHE. All our enemies have opened their mouths over us.
With their mouth, opened wide over us, [stand] all our foes.
47 PHE. Prediction has become for us a dread, and a snare, and a grief.
Terror and a pit, have befallen us, tumult and grievous injury;
48 PHE. My eye has brought forth streams of water at the contrition of the daughter of my people.
With streams of water, mine eye runneth down, over the grievous injury of the daughter of my people.
49 AIN. My eye has been afflicted, and it has not been quieted, because there would be no rest
Mine eye, poureth itself out and ceaseth not, without relief;
50 AIN. until the Lord looked down and saw from the heavens.
Until Yahweh out of the heavens shall look forth, and see,
51 AIN. My eye has exhausted my soul over every one of the daughters of my city.
Mine eye dealeth severely with my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.
52 SADE. My enemies have chased me, and they have caught me like a bird, without reason.
They, have laid snares, for me as a bird, who are mine enemies without cause:
53 SADE. My life has fallen into a pit, and they have placed a stone over me.
They have cut off, in the dungeon, my life, and have cast a stone upon me;
54 SADE. The waters have flooded over my head. I said, “I am lost.”
Waters, flowed over, my head, I said, I am cut off!
55 COPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, from the furthest pit.
I have called upon thy Name, O Yahweh, out of the dungeon below;
56 COPH. You have heard my voice. Do not turn away your ear from my sobbing and my cries.
My voice, thou hast heard, —do not close thine ear to my respite, to mine outcry;
57 COPH. You drew near in the daytime, when I called upon you. You said, “Fear not.”
Thou drewest near, in the day I kept calling on thee, thou saidst, Do not fear!
58 RES. You have judged, O Lord, the case of my soul. You are the Redeemer of my life.
Thou hast pleaded, O My Lord, the pleas of my soul, hast redeemed my life;
59 RES. You have seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me. Judge my case.
Thou hast beheld, O Yahweh, my failure to get justice, Pronounce thou my sentence;
60 RES. You have seen all their fury, every one of their thoughts is against me.
Thou hast seen all their vindictiveness, all their plots against me.
61 SIN. You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their thoughts are against me.
Thou hast heard their reproach, O Yahweh, all their plots against me;
62 SIN. The lips of those who rise up against me, and their meditations, are against me all day long.
The lips of mine assailants, and their mutterings, are against me, all the day;
63 SIN. Watch their sitting down and their rising up: I am their psalm.
On their downsitting and their uprising, do thou look, I, am their song.
64 THAU. You shall pay a recompense to them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.
Thou wilt render to them a recompense, O Yahweh, according to the work of their hands;
65 THAU. You shall give them a heavy shield of the heart: your hardship.
Thou wilt suffer them a veiling of heart, thy curse to them;
66 THAU. You shall pursue them in fury, and you shall destroy them under the heavens, O Lord.
Thou wilt pursue in anger, and wilt destroy them, from under the heavens of Yahweh.
