Lamentations 3: His mercies are new every morning

In the Bible’s lament over ruined Jerusalem, a man who has lost all hope remembers God’s mercy, and hope comes back.

Picture: Caspar David Friedrich, Morning in the Riesengebirge, 1810–11

Plain English

Remember my affliction and my wandering,the wormwood and the gall.My soul keeps remembering them,and it is bowed down within me.

This I call to mind,and so I have hope:by the LORD’s steadfast love we are not consumed,for His mercies never fail.They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,“so I will hope in Him.”The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,to the soul that seeks Him.It is good to hope and wait quietlyfor the salvation of the LORD.

I called on Your name, O LORD,from the lowest pit.You heard my voice.Do not close Your earto my sighing, to my cry for help.

You came near on the day I called You,and You said, “Do not be afraid.”O Lord, You have pleaded my cause;You have redeemed my life.

Traditional wording, 1611

Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

I called upon Thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.Thou hast heard my voice: hide not Thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon Thee: Thou saidst, Fear not.O Lord, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; Thou hast redeemed my life.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew (chapter 3, verses 19 to 26 and 55 to 58), with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where the King James has “Remembering mine affliction”, its own margin and the Hebrew read “Remember”, a plea to God.

When it is said

Pray it when you feel your hope has died.

Its middle lines suit the first minutes of a day, since they speak of mercies that are new every morning.

Where it comes from

Author by tradition

A lament for Jerusalem

Lamentations is a book of mourning for Jerusalem after the city was laid waste and its people were taken captive. The old Greek translation of the Bible opens it with a line saying that the prophet Jeremiah sat weeping and spoke this lament over the city.

Brenton’s English of the Greek Old Testament, Lamentations

Which verses

The prayer is Lamentations 3:19-26 and Lamentations 3:55-58. The chapter is one man’s lament. Just before these verses he cries that his strength and his hope have perished (Lamentations 3:18). At verse 19 he turns to God and asks Him to remember his suffering. Then God’s mercy comes back to his mind, and with it his hope. The last four verses look back on the day God heard him from the pit and redeemed his life.

The King James Version; The Hebrew Bible, on Mechon Mamre

The Scripture in it

Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:19-26 Quoted He asks God to remember his suffering, and hope returns, for the LORD’s mercies are new every morning.

I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit. You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.” You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.” You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.

Lamentations 3:55-58 Quoted He cried to God from the pit, and God came near with the words “Do not fear” and redeemed his life.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

Close to this

All prayers

Suggest a correction