Lamentations 3:5-19

5He has fought against me from every side. He caused much trouble for me, so that I am very sad.

6He has brought me to this dark place. So I am like a person who has been dead for a long time.

7It is as if God has built high walls round me, and I cannot go out. My troubles are very bad. They hold me down like heavy chains.

8I shout and I pray for help, but God does not listen.

9On every road that I go along, he has put big rocks in my way. I cannot go past them.

10God is like a strong wild animal. He hides and he waits for me by the path.

11He is like an animal that catches me and pulls me off the path. He tears me in pieces and then he leaves me without any help.

12God is like a soldier with a bow and arrows. He used his bow to shoot at me.

13It was as if he shot me in the heart with his arrows.

14All the people see me and laugh. They even sing silly songs about me all the time.

15God has caused my life to become a thing of pain. It is as if he filled a cup with a very bitter drink for me.

16It is as if he caused me to eat small stones, so that the stones broke my teeth. Then he put me on the ground, and he pushed me down in the dirt.

17He has taken peace away from my mind. I cannot remember the happy days that I had before.

18I tell myself, ‘Everything good has finished for me! The things that I hoped for from the Lord have not come!’

19Lord, please remember all my troubles, because I am sad. Remember that I am very lonely. My troubles are like poison for me.