3:1 | "I am the man who has experienced suffering under the rod of God's fury. |
3:2 | God has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light. |
3:3 | He beat me again and again all day long. |
3:4 | He has made my flesh and my skin waste away. He has broken my bones. |
3:5 | He has attacked me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. |
3:6 | He has made me live in darkness, like those who died a long time ago. |
3:7 | He has blocked me so that I can't get out. He has put heavy chains on me. |
3:8 | Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer. |
3:9 | He has blocked my way with cut stones and made my paths crooked. |
3:10 | He is like a bear waiting to ambush me, like a lion in hiding. |
3:11 | He has forced me off the road I was taking, torn me to pieces, and left me with nothing. |
3:12 | He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows. |
3:13 | He has shot the arrows from his quiver into my heart. |
3:14 | I have become a laughingstock to all my people. All day long they make fun of me with their songs. |
3:15 | He has filled me with bitterness. He has made me drink wormwood. |
3:16 | He has ground my teeth with gravel. He has trampled me into the dust. |
3:17 | "My soul has been kept from enjoying peace. I have forgotten what happiness is. |
3:18 | I said, 'I've lost my strength to live and my hope in the LORD.' |
3:19 | Remember my suffering and my aimless wandering, the wormwood and poison. |
3:20 | My soul continues to remember these things and is so discouraged. |
3:21 | "The reason I can still find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind: |
3:22 | the LORD'S mercy. We were not completely wiped out. His compassion is never limited. |
3:23 | It is new every morning. His faithfulness is great. |
3:24 | My soul can say, 'The LORD is my lot in life. That is why I find hope in him.' |
3:25 | The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to anyone who seeks help from him. |
3:26 | "It is good to continue to hope and wait silently for the LORD to save us. |
3:27 | It is good for people to endure burdens when they're young. |
3:28 | They should sit alone and remain silent because the LORD has laid these burdens on them. |
3:29 | They should put their mouths in the dust. Maybe a reason to hope exists. |
3:30 | They should turn their cheeks to the one who strikes them and take their fill of insults. |
3:31 | "The Lord will not reject such people forever. |
3:32 | Even if he makes us suffer, he will have compassion in keeping with the richness of his mercy. |
3:33 | He does not willingly bring suffering or grief to anyone, |
3:34 | crush any prisoner on earth underfoot, |
3:35 | deny people their rights in the presence of the Most High God, |
3:36 | or deprive people of justice in court. The Lord isn't happy to see these things. |
3:37 | Who was it who spoke and it came into being? It was the Lord who gave the order. |
3:38 | Both good and bad come from the mouth of the Most High God. |
3:39 | "Why should any living mortal (any person) complain about being punished for sin? |
3:40 | Let us look closely at our ways and examine them and then return to the LORD. |
3:41 | Let us raise our hearts and hands to God in heaven. |
3:42 | "We have been disobedient and rebellious. You haven't forgiven us. |
3:43 | You covered yourself with anger and pursued us. You killed without pity. |
3:44 | You covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer could get through it. |
3:45 | You made us the scum and trash of the nations. |
3:46 | All our enemies gawk at us. |
3:47 | Panic and pitfalls have found us, so have devastation and destruction. |
3:48 | "Streams of tears run down from my eyes over the ruin of my dear people. |
3:49 | My eyes will keep flowing without stopping for a moment |
3:50 | until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees. |
3:51 | What I see with my eyes disturbs me deeply because of all the young women in my city. |
3:52 | "Those who were my enemies for no reason hunted me like a bird. |
3:53 | They threw me alive into a pit and threw rocks at me. |
3:54 | Water flowed over my head. I thought I was finished. |
3:55 | "I call your name from the deepest pit, O LORD. |
3:56 | Listen to my cry for help. Don't close your ears when I cry out for relief. |
3:57 | Be close at hand when I call to you. You told me not to be afraid. |
3:58 | Plead my case for me, O LORD. Reclaim my life. |
3:59 | Look at the wrong that has been done to me, O LORD. Give me a fair verdict. |
3:60 | Look at all their malice, all their plots against me. |
3:61 | Listen to their insults, all their plots against me. |
3:62 | The words and thoughts of those who attack me are directed against me all day long. |
3:63 | Look at them! Whether they are sitting or standing, they make fun of me in their songs. |
3:64 | Pay them back, O LORD, for what they deserve, for what their own hands have done. |
3:65 | Make them stubborn. Let your curse be on them. |
3:66 | Pursue them in anger, and wipe them out from under the LORD'S heaven." |