BSB · Scripture
Lamentations 3
Berean Standard Bible
Selected: verse 19–33. The whole chapter is included for context.
Section headings and translator notes come from the publisher; they are reading aids, distinct from the Bible text.
The Prophet’s Afflictions
Verse1I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
Verse2He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.
Verse3Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long.
Verse4He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
Verse5He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
Verse6He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
Verse7He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
Verse8Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
Verse9He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked.
Verse10He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
Verse11He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
Verse12He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
Verse13He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
Verse14I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
Verse15He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
Verse16He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
Verse17My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
Verse18So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
The Prophet’s Hope
Verse19Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. (selected verse)
Verse20Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me. (selected verse)
Verse21Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: (selected verse)
Verse22Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. (selected verse)
Verse23They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! (selected verse)
Verse24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” (selected verse)
Verse25The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. (selected verse)
Verse26It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (selected verse)
Verse27It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young. (selected verse)
Verse28Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it upon him. (selected verse)
Verse29Let him bury his face in the dust— perhaps there is still hope. (selected verse)
Verse30Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach. (selected verse)
Verse31For the Lord will not cast us off forever. (selected verse)
Verse32Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion. (selected verse)
Verse33For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men. (selected verse)
Verse34To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
Verse35to deny a man justice before the Most High,
Verse36to subvert a man in his lawsuit— of these the Lord does not approve.
God’s Justice
Verse37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Verse38Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Verse39Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
Verse40Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
Verse41Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
Verse42“We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
Verse43You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.
Verse44You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
Verse45You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
Verse46All our enemies open their mouths against us.
Verse47Panic and pitfall have come upon us— devastation and destruction.
Verse48Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Verse49My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,
Verse50until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
Verse51My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
Verse52Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Verse53They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.
Verse54The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
Verse55I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
Verse56You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”
Verse57You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.”
Verse58You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
Verse59You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
Verse60You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
Verse61O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
Verse62the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
Verse63When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song.
Verse64You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Verse65Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
Verse66You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
Translator notes (2)
- Verse 1: This chapter is an acrostic poem, each 3–verse stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Verse 22: Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant.