Online Bible

Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Misery

I am the man who has ^aseen miseryBecause of the rod of His wrath.2 He has driven me and made me walkIn ^adarkness and not in light.3 Indeed, He has ^aturned His hand against meRepeatedly all the day.4 He has consumed my ^aflesh and my skin,He has ^bbroken my bones.5 He has ¹^abesieged and surrounded me with ²^bbitterness and hardship.6 He has made me live in ^adark places,Like those who have long been dead.7 He has ^awalled me in so that I cannot go out;He has made my ¹^bchain heavy.8 Even when I cry out and call for help,He ^ashuts out my prayer.9 He has ^ablocked my ways with cut stone;He has twisted my paths.10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,Like a lion in secret places.11 He has made my ways deviate, and ^atorn me to pieces;He has made me desolate.12 He ^abent His bowAnd ^btook aim at me as a target for the arrow.13 He made the ¹arrows of His ^aquiverEnter my ²inward parts.14 I have become a ^alaughingstock to all my people,Their ^bsong of ridicule all the day.15 He has ^afilled me with bitterness,He has made me drink plenty of wormwood.16 He has also ^amade my teeth grind with ^bgravel;He has made me cower in the ^cdust.17 My soul has been excluded ^afrom peace;I have forgotten ¹happiness.18 So I say, “My ¹strength has failed,And so has my ^ahope from the LORD.”

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

19 Remember my misery and my homelessness, the ^awormwood and ¹bitterness.20 ^aMy soul certainly remembers,And ¹is ^bbent over within me.21 I recall this to my mind,Therefore I ¹^await.22 ¹The LORD’S ^aacts of mercy indeed do not end,^bFor His compassions do not fail.23 They are new ^aevery morning;Great is ^bYour faithfulness.24 “The LORD is my ^aportion,” says my soul,“Therefore I ¹^bwait for Him.”25 The LORD is good to those who ¹^aawait Him,To the ²person who ^bseeks Him.26 It is good that he ^awaits silentlyFor the salvation of the LORD.27 It is good for a man to bearThe yoke in his youth.28 Let him ^asit alone and keep quiet,Since He has laid it on him.29 Let him ¹put his mouth in the ^adust;Perhaps there is ^bhope.30 Let him give his ^acheek to the one who is going to strike him;Let him be filled with shame.31 For the Lord will ^anot reject forever,32 For if He causes grief,Then He will have ^acompassionIn proportion to His abundant mercy.33 For He ^adoes not ¹afflict ²willinglyOr ³grieve the sons of mankind.34 To crush under ¹one’s feetAll the prisoners of the ²land,35 To ¹deprive a man of ^ajusticeIn the presence of the Most High,36 To ¹^adefraud someone in his lawsuit—Of these things the Lord does not ²approve.37 Who is ¹there who speaks and it ^acomes to pass,Unless the Lord has commanded it?38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most HighThat ¹^aboth adversity and good proceed?

39 Of what can any living ¹mortal, or any man,^aComplain ²in view of his sins?40 Let’s ^aexamine and search out our ways,And let’s return to the LORD.41 We ^araise our heart ¹and handsToward God in heaven;42 We have ^adone wrong and rebelled;You have ^bnot pardoned.43 You have covered Yourself with ^aangerAnd ^bpursued us;You have slain and ^chave not spared.44 You have ^aveiled Yourself with a cloudSo that ^bno prayer can pass through.45 You have made us mere ^arefuse and rubbishIn the midst of the peoples.46 All our enemies have ^aopened their mouths against us.47 ^aPanic and pitfall have come upon us,Devastation and destruction;48 My ¹^aeyes run down with streams of waterBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.49 My eyes flow ^aunceasingly,Without stopping,50 Until the LORD ^alooks downAnd sees from heaven.51 My eyes bring pain to my soulBecause of all the daughters of my city.52 My enemies ^awithout reasonHunted me down ^blike a bird;53 They have silenced ¹me ^ain the pitAnd have ²^bthrown stones on me.54 Waters flowed ^aover my head;I said, “I am ¹cut off!”55 I ^acalled on Your name, LORD,Out of the lowest pit.56 You have ^aheard my voice,“^bDo not cover Your ear from my plea for relief,From my cry for help.”57 You ^acame near on the day I called to You;You said, “^bDo not fear!”58 Lord, You ^ahave pleaded my soul’s cause;You have ^bredeemed my life.59 LORD, You have ^aseen my oppression;^bJudge my case.60 You have seen all their vengeance,All their ^aschemes against me.61 You have heard their ^areproach, LORD,All their schemes against me.62 The ^alips of my assailants and their talkAre against me all day long.63 Look at their ¹^asitting and their rising;^bI am their mocking song.64 You will ^arepay them, LORD,In accordance with the work of their hands.65 You will give them ¹^ashamelessness of heart,Your curse will be on them.66 You will ^apursue them in anger and eliminate themFrom under the ^bheavens of the LORD!

Jeremiah’s Heavy Chain

א — Aleph

I am the man who has ^aseen afflictionBecause of the rod of His wrath.2 He has driven me and made me walkIn ^adarkness and not in light.3 Surely against me He has ^aturned His handRepeatedly all the day.

ב — Beth

4 He has caused my ^aflesh and my skin to waste away;He has ^bbroken my bones.5 He has ^abesieged and encompassed me with ^bgall and hardship.6 ^aDark places He has made me inhabit,Like those who have long been dead.

ג — Gimel

7 He has ^awalled me in so that I cannot go out;He has made my ¹^bchain heavy.8 Even when I cry out and call for help,He ^ashuts out my prayer.9 He has ^ablocked my ways with cut stone;He has made my paths crooked.

ד — Daleth

10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,Like a lion in secret places.11 He has turned aside my ways and ^atorn me to pieces;He has made me desolate.12 He ^abent His bowAnd ^bset me as a target for the arrow.

ה — He

13 He made the ¹arrows of His ^aquiverTo enter into my ²inward parts.14 I have become a ^alaughingstock to all my people,Their ^bmusic of mockery all the day.15 He has ^asaturated me with bitterness;He has sated me with wormwood.

ו — Vav

16 He has ^abroken my teeth with ^bgravel;He has made me cower in the ^cdust.17 My soul has been rejected ^afrom peace;I have forgotten goodness.18 So I say, “My strength has perished,As well as my ^ahopeful waiting which comes from Yahweh.”

The Lord Will Not Reject Forever

ז — Zayin

19 Remember my affliction and my ¹homelessness, the ^awormwood and gall.20 Surely ^amy soul remembersAnd is ^bbowed down within me.21 This I will return to my heart;Therefore I will ^await in hope.

ח — Heth

22 The ^alovingkindnesses of Yahweh ¹indeed never cease,^bFor His compassions never fail.23 They are new ^aevery morning;Great is ^bYour faithfulness.24 “Yahweh is my ^aportion,” says my soul,“Therefore I ^bwait for Him.”

ט — Teth

25 Yahweh is good to those who ^ahope in Him,To the soul who ^bseeks Him.26 It is good that he ^awaits silentlyFor the salvation of Yahweh.27 It is good for a man that he should bearThe yoke in his youth.

י — Yodh

28 Let him ^asit alone and be silentSince He has laid it on him.29 Let him ¹put his mouth in the ^adust;Perhaps there is ^bhope.30 Let him give his ^acheek to the one who strikes him;Let him be saturated with reproach.

כ — Kaph

31 For the Lord will ^anot reject forever,32 For if He causes grief,Then He will have ^acompassionAccording to His abundant lovingkindness.33 For He ^adoes not afflict from His heartOr grieve the sons of men.

ל — Lamedh

34 To crush under His feetAll the prisoners of the ¹land,35 To ¹deprive a man of ^ajusticeIn the presence of the Most High,36 To ¹^adefraud a man in his legal case—These things the Lord does not see with approval.

מ — Mem

37 Who is ¹there who speaks and it ^ahappens,Unless the Lord has commanded it?38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most HighThat ^aboth calamities and ¹good go forth?39 Why should any living ¹person or any man^aComplain because of his sins?

נ — Nun

40 Let us ^asearch out and examine our ways,And let us return to Yahweh.41 We ^alift up our heart to our handsToward God in heaven;42 We have ^atransgressed and rebelled;You have ^bnot pardoned.

ס — Samekh

43 You have covered Yourself with ^aangerAnd ^bpursued us;You have killed and ^chave not spared.44 You have ^acovered Yourself with a cloudSo that ^bno prayer can pass through.45 You have made us mere ^ascum and refuseIn the midst of the peoples.

פ — Pe

46 All our enemies have ^aopened their mouths against us.47 ^aPanic and pitfall have befallen us,Devastation and destruction;48 My ¹^aeyes run down with streams of waterBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

ע — Ayin

49 My eyes pour down ^aunceasingly,Without stopping,50 Until Yahweh ^alooks downAnd sees from heaven.51 My eyes deal severely with my soulBecause of all the daughters of my city.

צ — Tsadhe

52 My enemies ^awithout causeHunted me down ^blike a bird;53 They have silenced my life ^ain the pitAnd have ¹^bplaced a stone on me.54 Waters flowed ^aover my head;I said, “I am cut off!”

ק — Qoph

55 I ^acalled on Your name, O Yahweh,Out of the lowest pit.56 You have ^aheard my voice,“^bDo not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,From my cry for help.”57 You ^adrew near when I called on You;You said, “^bDo not fear!”

ר — Resh

58 O Lord, You ^ahave pleaded my soul’s cause;You have ^bredeemed my life.59 O Yahweh, You have ^aseen my oppression;^bJudge my case.60 You have seen all their vengeance,All their ^apurposes against me.

ש / ש — Sin / Shin

61 You have heard their ^areproach, O Yahweh,All their purposes against me.62 The ^alips of those who rise against me and their whisperingAre against me all day long.63 Look on their ^asitting and their rising;^bI am their mocking song.

ת — Tav

64 You will ^arecompense them, O Yahweh,According to the work of their hands.65 You will give them ¹^adullness of heart;Your curse will be on them.66 You will ^apursue them in anger and destroy themFrom under the ^bheavens of Yahweh!