Lamentations 3: New Every Morning

Lamentations 3 is the heart of the book. One man describes how he has suffered and felt like he was walking in darkness. But in the middle of his sadness, he remembers something that gives him hope: because of Yahweh's loving kindness, his people are not consumed. God's mercies are new every morning, and his faithfulness is great. The man decides to wait quietly for God. He remembers that God came near when he called and told him not to be afraid.

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Read Lamentations 3

World English Bible · 66 verses

¹ I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
² He has led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³ Surely he turns his hand against me again and again all day long.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴ He has made my flesh and my skin old. He has broken my bones.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵ He has built against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶ He has made me dwell in dark places, as those who have been long dead.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁷ He has walled me about, so that I can’t go out. He has made my chain heavy.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁸ Yes, when I cry, and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁹ He has walled up my ways with cut stone. He has made my paths crooked.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁰ He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in hiding.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹¹ He has turned away my path, and pulled me in pieces. He has made me desolate.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹² He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹³ He has caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my kidneys.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁴ I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness. He has stuffed me with wormwood.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁶ He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁷ You have removed my soul far away from peace. I forgot prosperity.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁸ I said, “My strength has perished, along with my expectation from Yahweh.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁰ My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²¹ This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²² It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²³ They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁴ “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁵ Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁶ It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁷ It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁸ Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it on him.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust, if it is so that there may be hope.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁰ Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him. Let him be filled full of reproach.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³² For though he causes grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³³ For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁴ To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁵ to turn away the right of a man before the face of the Most High,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁶ to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord doesn’t approve.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁷ Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁸ Doesn’t evil and good come out of the mouth of the Most High?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³⁹ Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁰ Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴¹ Let’s lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴² “We have transgressed and have rebelled. You have not pardoned.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴³ “You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁴ You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁵ You have made us an off-scouring and refuse in the middle of the peoples.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁶ “All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁷ Terror and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁸ My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴⁹ My eye pours down and doesn’t cease, without any intermission,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁰ until Yahweh looks down, and sees from heaven.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵¹ My eye affects my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵² They have chased me relentlessly like a bird, those who are my enemies without cause.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵³ They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone on me.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁴ Waters flowed over my head. I said, “I am cut off.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁵ I called on your name, Yahweh, out of the lowest dungeon.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁶ You heard my voice: “Don’t hide your ear from my sighing, and my cry.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁷ You came near in the day that I called on you. You said, “Don’t be afraid.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁸ Lord, you have pleaded the causes of my soul. You have redeemed my life.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵⁹ Yahweh, you have seen my wrong. Judge my cause.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶⁰ You have seen all their vengeance and all their plans against me.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶¹ You have heard their reproach, Yahweh, and all their plans against me,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶² the lips of those that rose up against me, and their plots against me all day long.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶³ You see their sitting down and their rising up. I am their song.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶⁴ You will pay them back, Yahweh, according to the work of their hands.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶⁵ You will give them hardness of heart, your curse to them.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶⁶ You will pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Yahweh.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org

Worksheets

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Open Preschool on its own page

Lamentations 3 · Preschool

God's Love Is New Every Day

Name Date

Color the sun rising in the morning. God's love is new every morning!

Can you find these in the picture? Circle each one!

Bible Verse

“It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.”

Lamentations 3:22 (WEB)

Prayer

Thank You, God, for making me!

Take It Home

Read the verse aloud. Then explain that the person in this poem was very sad. But he remembered that God's love never stops. Every morning God gives new mercy, like the sun coming up. Thank God together for his love each morning.

Open Grade 4 on its own page

Lamentations 3 · Grade 4

This I Recall to My Mind

Name Date

Read and Think

Lamentations 3 sits at the center of the book. It is a triple acrostic, with three verses for each Hebrew letter, giving it sixty-six verses. A single man speaks, describing his suffering in strong pictures: darkness, walls, heavy chains, and prayers that seem shut out.

At verse 21 the poem turns. This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope. It is because of Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don't fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Hebrew word for loving kindness describes God's loyal covenant love.

From hope, the man moves to patient trust and repentance. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh. He invites everyone to examine their ways. Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh. He ends by remembering how God answered him in the pit and said, Don't be afraid.

Show What You Know

Why does chapter 3 have sixty-six verses?
At which verse does the poem turn?
What does the Hebrew word for loving kindness describe?
What does the man invite everyone to do?

Word Bank Fill-In

Use the word bank to fill in each blank.

morninghopegood

This I recall to my mind; therefore I have .
They are new every .
It is that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.

Think About It

Why do you think hope appears in the very middle of the book?
What truths about God can you call to mind when you feel discouraged?

Memory Verse

“It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.”

Lamentations 3:22 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for new mercies every morning. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

Why did hope come in the middle?
What can you remember on a hard day?

Open Grade 5 on its own page

Lamentations 3 · Grade 5

His Mercies Don't Fail

Name Date

Read and Think

Chapter 3 is the structural and theological center of Lamentations. Unlike chapters 1, 2, and 4, it uses three lines for every letter of the alphabet. The speaker is a man who has seen affliction. Verses 1 to 20 use intense pictures of God's hand turned against him, of being walled in, of prayers shut out, and of arrows of sorrow. He feels that his strength and hope have perished.

Then, at the exact center of the book, hope breaks through. It is because of Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don't fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Hope is not found by denying suffering but by remembering God's character. Yahweh is my portion, says my soul. Therefore I will hope in him.

The poem goes on to teach that the Lord will not cast off forever, and that he does not afflict willingly. So the right response is honest self-examination and prayer. Let's lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens. The poem closes with the memory of answered prayer: You came near in the day that I called on you. Many hymns, including Great Is Thy Faithfulness, draw on this chapter.

Show What You Know

How is chapter 3 different from chapters 1, 2, and 4?
Where in the book does hope break through?
What does the poem teach the Lord will not do?
Which hymn draws on this chapter?

Crossword

Across

They are new every ____.
This I recall to my mind; therefore I have ____.

Down

Because his ____ don’t fail.
Yahweh is good to those who ____ for him.
Yahweh is ____ to those who wait for him.

Think About It

How can remembering God's character bring hope without denying real suffering?
What does it mean to say Yahweh is my portion?

Memory Verse

“It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.”

Lamentations 3:22 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for new mercies every morning. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

How has God been faithful to you?
Who could you tell about God's new mercies?
What is one way you could live out this chapter this week?

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Lamentations 3: New Every Morning

Read Lamentations 3

Worksheets

God's Love Is New Every Day

Prayer

Take It Home

New Every Morning

Trace the Words

Match the Pictures

Mini Maze

Draw It

Prayer

Take It Home

God Is Faithful

Trace the Words

Match the Pictures

New Every Morning

Prayer

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New Every Morning

Read the Story

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Word Search

Prayer

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Great Is Your Faithfulness

Read the Story

Answer the Questions

New Every Morning

Word Search

Prayer

Take It Home

This I Recall to My Mind

Read and Think

Show What You Know

Word Bank Fill-In

Think About It

Copy It

Prayer

Take It Home

His Mercies Don't Fail

Read and Think

Show What You Know

Crossword

Think About It

Copy It

Prayer

Take It Home

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