Lamentations 3:5-19

5He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.

6He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.

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

8And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.

9He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.

10He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.

11He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.

12He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

13He shot his arrows deep into my heart.

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

15He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

16He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.

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

18I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

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