Lamentations 3 - Easy To Read Version

¹ I am a man that has seen much trouble.\par The Lord beat us with a stick.\par And I saw it happen!\par

² The Lord led and brought me\par into darkness, not light.\par

³ The Lord turned his hand against me.\par He did this again and again, all day.\par

⁴ He wore out my flesh and skin.\par He broke my bones.\par

⁵ The Lord built up bitterness\par and trouble against me.\par He made bitterness and trouble\par come all around me.\par

⁶ He made me sit in the dark.\par He made me like some person\par that has been dead a long time.\par

⁷ The Lord shut me in, so I could not get out.\par He put heavy chains on me.\par

⁸ Even when I cry out and ask for help,\par the Lord does not listen to my prayer.\par

⁹ He has blocked up my path with stones.\par He has made my path crooked.\par

¹⁰ The Lord is like a bear about to attack me.\par He is like a lion that is in a hiding place.\par

¹¹ The Lord led me off my path.\par He tore me to pieces.\par He ruined me.\par

¹² He made his bow ready.\par He made me the target for his arrows.\par

¹³ He shot me in the stomach.\par He shot me with his arrows.\par

¹⁴ I have become a joke to all of my people.\par All day long they sing songs about me\par and make fun of me.\par

¹⁵ The Lord gave me this poison (punishment)\par to drink.\par He filled me with this bitter drink.\par

¹⁶ The Lord pushed my teeth\par into rocky ground.\par He pushed me into the dirt.\par

¹⁷ I thought I would never have peace again.\par I forgot about good things.\par

¹⁸ I said to myself,\par “I no longer have any hope\par that the Lord will help me.”\par

¹⁹ Lord, remember,\par I am very sad.\par And I have no home.\par Remember the bitter poison (punishment)\par that you gave me.\par

²⁰ I remember well all my troubles.\par And I am very sad.\par

²¹ But then I think of something else,\par then I have hope. What I think of is this:\par

²² The Lord’s love and kindness never ends. {\cf2\super [22]} \par His compassion never ends.\par

²³ Every morning he shows it in new ways!\par Lord, you are so very true and loyal!\par

²⁴ I say to myself,\par “The Lord is my God,\par and I trust him.” {\cf2\super [23]} \par

²⁵ The Lord is good to people\par that wait for him.\par The Lord is good to people\par that look for him.\par

²⁶ It is good for a person to wait quietly\par for the Lord to save him.\par

²⁷ It is good for a person to wear the yoke {\cf2\super [24]} \par of the Lord.\par It is good for a person to wear that yoke\par from the time he is young.\par

²⁸ That person should sit alone and be quiet\par when the Lord puts his yoke on him.\par

²⁹ That person should bow to the Lord\par with his face to the ground.\par Maybe there is still hope.\par

³⁰ That person should turn his cheek\par to the one that hits him.\par That person should let people insult him.\par

³¹ That person should remember that\par the Lord does not reject people forever.\par

³² When the Lord punishes,\par he also has mercy.\par He has mercy because of his great love\par and kindness.\par

³³ The Lord does not want to punish people.\par He does not like to make people unhappy.\par

³⁴ The Lord does not like these things:\par He does not like for someone to crush\par all the prisoners of the earth under his feet.\par

³⁵ He does not like for someone\par to be unfair to another person.\par But some people do those bad things\par right in front of God Most High.\par

³⁶ The Lord does not like for a person\par to cheat another person.\par The Lord does not like any of these things.\par

³⁷ Nobody can say something\par and have it happen,\par unless the Lord orders it to happen.\par

³⁸ God Most High commands\par both good and bad things to happen.\par

³⁹ No person alive can complain\par when the Lord punishes him for his sins.\par

⁴⁰ Let us check and see what we have done.\par Then let us turn back to the Lord.\par

⁴¹ Let us lift up our hearts and our hands\par to the God of heaven.\par

⁴² Let us say to him,\par “We have sinned and have been stubborn.\par Because of this, you haven’t forgiven us.\par

⁴³ You wrapped yourself with anger.\par You chased us.\par You killed us without mercy!\par

⁴⁴ You wrapped yourself in a cloud.\par You did that so that no prayer\par could get through.\par

⁴⁵ You made us like garbage and dirt\par to the other nations.\par

⁴⁶ All of our enemies\par speak angrily to us.\par

⁴⁷ We have been frightened.\par We have fallen into a pit.\par We have been hurt bad!\par We have been broken!”\par

⁴⁸ My eyes flow with streams of tears!\par I cry because of the destruction\par of my people!\par

⁴⁹ My eyes will flow without stopping!\par I will keep on crying!\par

⁵⁰ I will continue to cry\par until you look down and see us, Lord!\par I will continue to cry\par until you see us from heaven!\par

⁵¹ My eyes make me sad,\par when I see what happened\par to the girls in my city.\par

⁵² Those people were my enemies\par for no good reason,\par but they hunted me like a bird.\par

⁵³ They threw me into a pit\par while I was still alive.\par They threw stones at me.\par

⁵⁴ Water came up over my head.\par I said to myself,\par “I am finished.”\par

⁵⁵ Lord, I called your name.\par I called out your name\par from the bottom of the pit.\par

⁵⁶ You heard my voice.\par You didn’t close your ears.\par You didn’t refuse to rescue me.\par

⁵⁷ You came to me\par on the day that I called out to you.\par You said to me,\par “Don’t be afraid.”\par

⁵⁸ Lord, you defended me.\par You bought back my life for me.\par

⁵⁹ Lord, you have seen my trouble.\par Now judge my case for me.\par

⁶⁰ You have seen how my enemies\par have hurt me.\par You have seen all the evil plans\par that they made against me.\par

⁶¹ You heard them insult me, Lord.\par You have heard all the evil plans\par that they made against me.\par

⁶² The words and the thoughts of\par my enemies\par are against me all the time—\par

⁶³ when they sit down\par and when they stand up.\par Lord, look how they make fun of me!\par

⁶⁴ Give them back what they deserve, Lord!\par Pay them back for what they have done!\par

⁶⁵ Give them stubbornness of heart!\par Then put your curse on them!\par

⁶⁶ Chase them in anger!\par Destroy them!\par Destroy them from under the sky, Lord!\par