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3I am one who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath; ²he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; ³against me alone he turns his hand, again and again, all day long. ¹⁷my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; ¹⁸so I say, “Gone is my glory, and all that I had hoped for from the Lord.” ¹⁹The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall! ²⁰My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.

²¹But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: ²²The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; ²³they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” ²⁵The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. ²⁶It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. ²⁷It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth, ²⁸to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it, ²⁹to put one’s mouth to the dust (there may yet be hope), ³⁰to give one’s cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. ³¹For the Lord will not reject forever. ³²Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; ³³for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

5Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace! ²Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to aliens. ³We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. ¹⁸because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it. ¹⁹But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. ²⁰Why have you forgotten us completely? Why have you forsaken us these many days? ²¹Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored; renew our days as of old— ²²unless you have utterly rejected us, and are angry with us beyond measure.