I am the
man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
he has
driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
surely
against me he turns his hand
again and again the whole day long.
He has
made my flesh and my skin waste away;
he has broken my bones;
he has
besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
he has
made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
He has
walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has made my chains heavy;
though I
call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
he has
blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
he has made my paths crooked.
He has
filled me with bitterness;
he has sated me with wormwood.
He has
made my teeth grind on gravel,
and made me cower in ashes;
my soul
is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
so I say,
“My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
But this
I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are
new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord
is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord
is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is
good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is
good for a man that he bear
the yoke in his youth.
Let him
sit alone in silence
when it is laid on him;
let him
put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
let him
give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
For the
Lord will not
cast off forever,
but,
though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast
love;
for he
does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.
Lamentations 3:1-9; 16-18; 21-33
