3I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.H1397H7200H6040H7626H5678 2He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.H5090H3212H2822H216 3He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.H7725H2015H3027H3117 4He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.H1320H5785H1086H7665H6106 5He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.H1129H5362H7219H8513 6He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.H3427H4285H4191H5769 7He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.H1443H3318H5178H3513 8And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.H2199H7768H5640H8605 9He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.H1443H1870H1496H5410H5753 10He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.H1677H693H738H4565 11He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.H5493H1870H6582H7760H8074 12He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.H1869H7198H5324H4307H2671 13He shot his arrows deep into my heart.H1121H827H935H3629 14My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.H7814H5971H5058H3117 15He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.H7646H4844H7301H3939 16He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.H1638H8127H2687H3728H665 17Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.H2186H5315H2186H7965H5382H2896 18I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”H559H5331H8431H6H3068 19The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.H2142H6040H4788H3939H7219 20I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.H5315H2142H2142H7743 21Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this.H7725H3820H3176 22The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.H3068H2617H8552H7356H3615 23Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.H2319H1242H7227H530 24I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”H3068H2506H559H5315H3176 25The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.H3068H2896H6960H5315H1875 26So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.H2896H3175H2342H1748H8668H3068 27And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline.H2896H1397H5375H5923H5271 28Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord’s demands.H3427H910H1826H5190 29Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.H5414H6310H6083H3426H8615 30Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies.H5414H3895H5221H7646H2781 31For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.H136H2186H5769 32Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.H3013H7355H7230H2617 33For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.H6031H3820H3013H1121H376 34If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,H1792H7272H615H776 35if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High,H5186H4941H1397H6440H5945 36if they twist justice in the courts—doesn’t the Lord see all these things?H5791H120H7379H136H7200 37Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission?H559H136H6680 38Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?H6310H5945H3318H7451H2896 39Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?H2416H120H596H1397H2399 40Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.H2664H2713H1870H7725H3068 41Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,H5375H3824H3709H410H8064 42“We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.H5168H6586H4784H5545 43“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.H5526H639H7291H2026H2550 44You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.H5526H6051H8605H5674 45You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.H7760H5501H3973H7130H5971 46“All our enemies have spoken out against us.H341H6475H6310 47We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”H6343H6354H7612H7667 48Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!H5869H3381H6388H4325H7667H1323H5971 49My tears flow endlessly; they will not stopH5869H5064H1820H2014 50until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.H3068H8259H7200H8064 51My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.H5869H5953H5315H1323H5892 52My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.H341H6679H6679H6833H2600 53They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.H6789H2416H953H3034H68 54The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!”H4325H6687H7218H559H1504 55But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit.H7121H8034H3068H8482H953 56You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!”H8085H6963H5956H241H7309H7775 57Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.”H7126H3117H7121H559H3372 58Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life.H136H7378H7379H5315H1350H2416 59You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord. Be my judge, and prove me right.H3068H7200H5792H8199H4941 60You have seen the vengeful plots my enemies have laid against me.H7200H5360H4284 61Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made.H8085H2781H3068H4284 62My enemies whisper and mutter as they plot against me all day long.H8193H6965H1902H3117 63Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.H5027H3427H7012H4485 64Pay them back, Lord, for all the evil they have done.H7725H1576H3068H4639H3027 65Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall on them!H5414H4044H3820H8381 66Chase them down in your anger, destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.H7291H8045H639H8064H3068
4How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!H2091H6004H2896H3800H8132H68H6944H8210H7218H2351 2See how the precious children of Jerusalem, worth their weight in fine gold, are now treated like pots of clay made by a common potter.H3368H1121H6726H5537H6337H2803H2789H5035H4639H3027H3335 3Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children’s cries, like ostriches in the desert.H8577H2502H7699H3243H1482H1323H5971H393H3283H4057 4The parched tongues of their little ones stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them.H3956H3243H1692H2441H6772H5768H7592H3899H6566 5The people who once ate the richest foods now beg in the streets for anything they can get. Those who once wore the finest clothes now search the garbage dumps for food.H398H4574H8074H2351H539H8438H2263H830 6The guilt of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and no hand offered help.H5771H1323H5971H1431H2403H5467H2015H7281H3027H2342 7Our princes once glowed with health—brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels.H5139H2141H7950H6705H2461H119H6106H6443H1508H5601 8But now their faces are blacker than soot. No one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin sticks to their bones; it is as dry and hard as wood.H8389H2821H7815H5234H2351H5785H6821H6106H3001H6086 9Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.H2491H2719H2896H2491H7458H1992H2100H1856H8570H7704 10Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.H3027H7362H802H1310H3206H1262H7667H1323H5971 11But now the anger of the Lord is satisfied. His fierce anger has been poured out. He started a fire in Jerusalem that burned the city to its foundations.H3068H3615H2534H8210H2740H639H3341H784H6726H398H3247 12Not a king in all the earth—no one in all the world—would have believed that an enemy could march through the gates of Jerusalem.H4428H776H3427H8398H539H6862H341H935H8179H3389 13Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.H2403H5030H5771H3548H8210H1818H6662H7130 14They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them.H5128H5787H2351H1351H1818H3201H3808H5060H3830 15“Get away!” the people shouted at them. “You’re defiled! Don’t touch us!” So they fled to distant lands and wandered among foreign nations, but none would let them stay.H7121H5493H2931H5493H5493H5060H5132H5128H559H1471H3254H1481 16The Lord himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.H6440H3068H2505H3254H5027H5375H6440H3548H2603H2205 17We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.H5869H3615H1892H5833H6836H6822H1471H3467 18We couldn’t go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end was near; our days were numbered. We were doomed!H6679H6806H3212H7339H7093H7126H3117H4390H7093H935 19Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight. If we fled to the mountains, they found us. If we hid in the wilderness, they were waiting for us there.H7291H7031H5404H8064H1814H2022H693H4057 20Our king—the Lord’s anointed, the very life of our nation—was caught in their snares. We had thought that his shadow would protect us against any nation on earth!H7307H639H4899H3068H3920H7825H559H6738H2421H1471 21Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz, O people of Edom? But you, too, must drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger. You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.H7797H8055H1323H123H3427H776H5780H3563H5674H7937H6168 22O beautiful Jerusalem, your punishment will end; you will soon return from exile. But Edom, your punishment is just beginning; soon your many sins will be exposed.H5771H8552H1323H6726H3254H1540H6485H5771H1323H123H1540H2403
5Lord, remember what has happened to us. See how we have been disgraced!H2142H3068H5027H7200H2781 2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.H5159H2015H2114H1004H5237 3We are orphaned and fatherless. Our mothers are widowed.H3490H369H1H517H490 4We have to pay for water to drink, and even firewood is expensive.H8354H4325H3701H6086H935H4242 5Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted but are given no rest.H6677H7291H3021H5117 6We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive.H5414H3027H4714H804H7646H3899 7Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—and we are suffering the punishment they deserved!H1H2398H369H5445H5771 8Slaves have now become our masters; there is no one left to rescue us.H5650H4910H6561H3027 9We hunt for food at the risk of our lives, for violence rules the countryside.H935H3899H5315H6440H2719H4057 10The famine has blackened our skin as though baked in an oven.H5785H3648H8574H6440H2152H7458 11Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem and the young girls in all the towns of Judah.H6031H802H6726H1330H5892H3063 12Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs, and our elders are treated with contempt.H8269H8518H3027H6440H2205H1921 13Young men are led away to work at millstones, and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood.H5375H970H2911H5288H3782H6086 14The elders no longer sit in the city gates; the young men no longer dance and sing.H2205H7673H8179H970H5058 15Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.H4885H3820H7673H4234H2015H60 16The garlands have fallen from our heads. Weep for us because we have sinned.H5850H5307H7218H188H2398 17Our hearts are sick and weary, and our eyes grow dim with tears.H3820H1739H5869H2821 18For Jerusalem is empty and desolate, a place haunted by jackals.H2022H6726H8074H7776H1980 19But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation.H3068H3427H5769H3678H1755H1755 20Why do you continue to forget us? Why have you abandoned us for so long?H7911H5331H5800H753H3117 21Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!H7725H3068H7725H2318H3117H6924 22Or have you utterly rejected us? Are you angry with us still?H3988H3988H3966H7107
Dublin, OH
.H2142
