3:2 | He has brought me into deep darkness, shutting out all light.

3:3 | He has turned against me. Day and night his hand is heavy upon me.

3:4 | He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.

3:5 | He has attacked me and surrounded me with anguish and distress.

3:6 | He has buried me in a dark place, like a person long dead.

3:7 | He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.

3:8 | And though I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayers.

3:9 | He has blocked my path with a high stone wall. He has twisted the road before me with many detours.

3:10 | He hid like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.

3:11 | He dragged me off the path and tore me with his claws, leaving me helpless and desolate.

3:12 | He bent his bow and aimed it squarely at me.

3:13 | He shot his arrows deep into my heart.

3:14 | My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.

3:15 | He has filled me with bitterness. He has given me a cup of deep sorrow to drink.

3:16 | He has made me grind my teeth on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.

3:17 | Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.

3:18 | I cry out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the LORD is lost!"

3:19 | The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.

3:20 | I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

3:21 | Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

3:22 | The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction.

3:23 | Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.

3:24 | I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"

3:25 | The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him.

3:26 | So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.

3:27 | And it is good for the young to submit to the yoke of his discipline.

3:29 | Let them lie face down in the dust; then at last there is hope for them.

3:30 | Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them. Let them accept the insults of their enemies.

3:31 | For the Lord does not abandon anyone forever.

3:32 | Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion according to the greatness of his unfailing love.

3:33 | For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

3:34 | But the leaders of his people trampled prisoners underfoot.

3:35 | They deprived people of their God-given rights in defiance of the Most High.

3:38 | Is it not the Most High who helps one and harms another?

3:39 | Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?

3:40 | Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn again in repentance to the LORD.

3:41 | Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,

3:42 | "We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.

3:43 | "You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.

3:44 | You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.

3:45 | You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.

3:46 | "All our enemies have spoken out against us.

3:47 | We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, desolate, and ruined."

3:48 | Streams of tears flow from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!

3:49 | My tears flow down endlessly. They will not stop

3:50 | until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.

3:51 | My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.

3:52 | My enemies, whom I have never harmed, chased me like a bird.

3:53 | They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.

3:54 | The water flowed above my head, and I cried out, "This is the end!"

3:55 | But I called on your name, LORD, from deep within the well,

3:56 | and you heard me! You listened to my pleading; you heard my weeping!

3:57 | Yes, you came at my despairing cry and told me, "Do not fear."

3:58 | Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life.

3:59 | You have seen the wrong they have done to me, LORD. Be my judge, and prove me right.

3:60 | You have seen the plots my enemies have laid against me.

3:61 | LORD, you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made--

3:62 | the plots my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.

3:63 | Look at them! In all their activities, they constantly mock me with their songs.

3:64 | Pay them back, LORD, for all the evil they have done.

3:65 | Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall upon them!