Lamentations 3:1-12

The Prophet Speaks:

א (Alef)

3:1 I am the man who has experienced affliction

from the rod of his wrath.

3:2 He drove me into captivity and made me walk

in darkness and not light.

3:3 He repeatedly attacks me,

he turns his hand against me all day long.

ב (Bet)

3:4 He has made my mortal skin waste away;

he has broken my bones.

3:5 He has besieged and surrounded me

with bitter hardship.

3:6 He has made me reside in deepest darkness

like those who died long ago.

ג (Gimel)

3:7 He has walled me in so that I cannot get out;

he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.

3:8 Also, when I cry out desperately for help,

he has shut out my prayer.

3:9 He has blocked every road I take with a wall of hewn stones;

he has made every path impassable.

ד (Dalet)

3:10 To me he is like a bear lying in ambush,

like a hidden lion stalking its prey.

3:11 He has obstructed my paths and torn me to pieces;

he has made me desolate.

3:12 He drew his bow and made me

the target for his arrow.