1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.

17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:

19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,

36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.

37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?

38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.

41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.

43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.

45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,

50 Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.

51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.

52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.

54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.

55 I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.

56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.

58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.

61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;

62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.

63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.

64 Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.

65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.

1 I Am the man that hath seene affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He hath led me and brought mee into darkenesse, but not into light.

3 Surely against me is he turned, he turneth his hand against me all the day.

4 My flesh and my skinne hath he made old, he hath broken my bones.

5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and trauel.

6 He hath set me in darke places, as they that be dead of old.

7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: hee hath made my chaine heauie.

8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

9 Hee hath inclosed my wayes with hewen stone: he hath made my pathes crooked.

10 He was vnto me as a Beare lying in waite, and as a Lion in secret places.

11 Hee hath turned aside my wayes, and pulled me in pieces: hee hath made me desolate.

12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a marke for the arrow.

13 Hee hath caused the arrowes of his quiuer to enter into my reines.

14 I was a derision to all my people, and their song all the day.

15 Hee hath filled me with bitternesse, hee hath made me drunken with wormewood.

16 He hath also broken my teeth with grauell stones, hee hath couered me with ashes.

17 And thou hast remoued my soule farre off from peace: I forgate prosperitie.

18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:

19 Remembring mine affliction and my miserie, the wormewood & the gall.

20 My soule hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore haue I hope.

22 It is of the Lords mercies that wee are not consumed, because his compassions faile not.

23 They are newe euery morning: great is thy faithfulnesse.

24 The Lord is my portion, sayth my soule, therefore will I hope in him.

25 The Lord is good vnto them that waite for him, to the soule that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the saluation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man that he beare the yoke in his youth.

28 Hee sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because hee hath borne it vpon him.

29 He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.

30 Hee giueth his cheeke to him that smiteth him, hee is filled full with reproch.

31 For the Lord will not cast off for euer.

32 But though hee cause griefe, yet will hee haue compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieue the children of men.

34 To crush vnder his feete all the prisoners of the earth,

35 To turne aside the right of a man before the face of the most high,

36 To subuert a man in his cause, the Lord approoueth not.

37 Who is hee that sayth, and it commeth to passe, when the Lord commandeth it not?

38 Out of the mouth of the most hie proceedeth not euill and good?

39 Wherefore doeth a liuing man complaine, a man for the punishment of his sinnes?

40 Let vs search and try our waies, and turne againe to the Lord.

41 Let vs lift vp our heart with our hands vnto God in the heauens.

42 We haue transgressed, and haue rebelled, thou hast not pardoned.

43 Thou hast couered with anger, and persecuted vs: thou hast slaine, thou hast not pitied.

44 Thou hast couered thy selfe with a cloud, that our prayer should not passe through.

45 Thou hast made vs as the offscouring and refuse in the middest of the people.

46 All our enemies haue opened their mouthes against vs.

47 Feare and a snare is come vpon vs, desolation and destruction.

48 Mine eye runneth downe with riuers of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 Mine eye trickleth downe and ceaseth not, without any intermission:

50 Till the Lord looke downe, and behold from heauen.

51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart, because of all the daughters of my city.

52 Mine enemies chased me sore like a bird, without cause.

53 They haue cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone vpon me.

54 Waters flowed ouer mine head, then I sayd, I am cut off.

55 I called vpon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.

56 Thou hast heard my voice, hide not thine eare at my breathing, at my crie.

57 Thou drewest neere in the day that I called vpon thee: thou saidst, Feare not.

58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soule, thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O Lord, thou hast seene my wrong, iudge thou my cause.

60 Thou hast seene all their vengeance; and all their imaginations against me.

61 Thou hast heard their reproch, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me:

62 The lippes of those that rose vp against me, and their deuice against me all the day.

63 Behold, their sitting downe and their rising vp, I am their musicke.

64 Render vnto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the worke of their hands.

65 Giue them sorrow of heart, thy curse vnto them.

66 Persecute and destroy them in anger, from vnder the heauens of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI == Ps 88:5-6 ; 143:3

 

VII == Job 30:20 ; Ps 22:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == Hos 6:1

 

XII == Ps 38:2

 

 

XIV == Ps 69:12 ; Jer 20:7

 

 

 

XVI == Prov 20:17

 

 

 

XVIII == Ps 31:22

 

XIX == Jer 9:15

 

 

 

 

XXII == Mal 3:6

 

 

XXIII == Isa 33:2

 

XXIV == Ps 16:5 ; 73:26 ; 119:57 ; Jer 10:16

XXV == Ps 130:6 ; Isa 30:18 ; Mic 7:7

XXVI == Ps 37:7

 

XXVII == Ps 94:12 ; 119:71

XXVIII == Jer 15:17

 

 

 

XXX == Isa 50:6 ; Matt 5:39

XXXI == Ps 94:14

 

 

 

XXXIII == Heb 12:10

 

 

 

 

 

XXXV == Hab 1:13

XXXVII == Ps 33:9

XXXVIII == Isa 45:7 ; Amos 3:6

 

XXXIX == Prov 19:3 ; Mic 7:9

 

 

XLI == Ps 86:4

 

 

XLII == Dan 9:5

 

 

 

 

 

XLV == 1st Cor 4:13

XLVI == Lam 2:16

 

XLVII == Isa 24:17 ; 51:19 ; Jer 48:43

XLVIII == Jer 4:19 ; 9:1 ; 14:17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LII == Ps 35:7 , 19 ; 69:4

LIII == Jer 37:16 ; 38:6 , 9-10

 

LVIII == Ps 35:1 ; 71:23 ; Jer 51:36

LIX == Ps 9:4 ; 35:23

LX == Jer 11:19

 

LXIII == Ps 139:2

LXIV == Ps 28:4 ; Jer 11:20 ; 2nd Tim 4:14

LXVI == Ps 8:3

1 I am a man who knows affliction from the rod of his anger,

2 One whom he has led and forced to walk in darkness, not in the light;

3 Against me alone he brings back his hand again and again all the day.

4 He has worn away my flesh and my skin, he has broken my bones;

5 He has beset me round about with poverty and weariness;

6 He has left me to dwell in the dark like those long dead.

7 He has hemmed me in with no escape and weighed me down with chains;

8 Even when I cry out for help, he stops my prayer;

9 He has blocked my ways with fitted stones, and turned my paths aside.

10 A lurking bear he has been to me, a lion in ambush!

11 He deranged my ways, set me astray, left me desolate.

12 He bent his bow, and set me up as the target for his arrow.

13 He pierces my sides with shafts from his quiver.

14 I have become a laughingstock for all nations, their taunt all the day long;

15 He has sated me with bitter food, made me drink my fill of wormwood.

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel, pressed my face in the dust;

17 My soul is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is;

18 I tell myself my future is lost, all that I hoped for from the LORD.

19 The thought of my homeless poverty is wormwood and gall;

20 Remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me.

21 But I will call this to mind, as my reason to have hope:

22 The favors of the LORD are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent;

23 They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness.

24 My portion is the LORD, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 Good is the LORD to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him;

26 It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the LORD.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke from his youth.

28 Let him sit alone and in silence, when it is laid upon him.

29 Let him put his mouth to the dust; there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to be struck, let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For the Lord's rejection does not last forever;

32 Though he punishes, he takes pity, in the abundance of his mercies;

33 He has no joy in afflicting or grieving the sons of men.

34 When anyone tramples underfoot all the prisoners in the land,

35 When he distorts men's rights in the very sight of the Most High,

36 When he presses a crooked claim, the Lord does not look on unconcerned.

37 Who commands so that it comes to pass, except the Lord ordains it;

38 Except it proceeds from the mouth of the Most High, whether the thing be good or bad!

39 Why should any living man complain, any mortal, in the face of his sins?

40 Let us search and examine our ways that we may return to the LORD!

41 Let us reach out our hearts toward God in heaven!

42 We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven us.

43 You veiled yourself in wrath and pursued us, you slew us and took no pity;

44 You wrapped yourself in a cloud which prayer could not pierce.

45 You have made us offscourings and refuse among the nations.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us;

47 Terror and the pit have been our lot, desolation and destruction;

48 My eyes run with streams of water over the downfall of the daughter of my people.

49 My eyes flow without ceasing, there is no respite,

50 Till the LORD from heaven looks down and sees.

51 My eyes torment my soul at the sight of all the daughters of my city.

52 Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird;

53 They struck me down alive in the pit, and sealed me in with a stone.

54 The waters flowed over my head, and I said, "I am lost!"

55 I called upon your name, O LORD, from the bottom of the pit;

56 You heard me call, "Let not your ear be deaf to my cry for help!"

57 You came to my aid when I called to you; you said, "Have no fear!"

58 You defended me in mortal danger, you redeemed my life.

59 You see, O LORD, how I am wronged; do me justice!

60 You see all their vindictiveness, all their plots against me.

61 You hear their insults, O LORD, (all their plots against me),

62 The whispered murmurings of my foes, against me all the day;

63 Whether they sit or stand, see, I am their taunt song.

64 Requite them as they deserve, O LORD, according to their deeds;

65 Give them hardness of heart, as your curse upon them;

66 Pursue them in wrath and destroy them from under your heavens!

Verses 1-18. This chapter is the key chapter of the book, with the other chapters built around it showing suffering and sin. Jeremiah is expressing his own feelings and experiences as representing all of Israel. This section expresses Jeremiah’s afflictions.

v 1-3. God’s hand was turned against him (them).

v 4-6. His outward appearance matched his inner feelings.

v 7-13. In his afflictions he felt God had singled him out for punishment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 14-18. He was mocked, embittered and felt without hope.

 

V 19-40. In this section he thinks upon the Lord and has hope, not despair.

 

 

 

v 20-24. He recalls what God has done and has hope. Judah would surely be destroyed for sins were it not for God’s mercies, which are renewed daily.
Some translations read that it is His mercies that are not consumed.

 

 

v 25-40. God pronounced cursing in Deut. 28 but restores promises in Deut. 30, so they must wait quietly for God to act.  Bible Knowledge

Commentary  lists seven principles regarding Israel’s affliction.
1 v 25-30 Endure affliction with hope in God’s salvation, that is, restoration.
2 v 31,32 Afflictions are temporary and tempered by God’s love and compassion.
3 v 33 God does not delight in affliction.
4 v 34-36 God does not approve of affliction caused by injustice.
5 v 37,38 Affliction is always in relationship to God’s sovereignty.
6 v 39 Affliction ultimately came from Judah’s sins.
7 v 40 Affliction should accomplish the greater need of turning men back to God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verses 41-66 This section is a prayer of Jeremiah. In the first part he represents Judah in self judgment and confession, in the second part, v 48-66, he grieves for Judah, recalls his own prison experiences, and calls upon God to judge his enemies.
v 41-47. After mentioning self examination, v 40, Jeremiah continues the thought of turning to the Lord, but as a whole, the people have not done that, so the Lord has turned His back on them, and they are in derision and fear of their enemies.
v 48-51. Jeremiah’s grief for his people rightly earn him the title weeping prophet. Some word v 51 as “more than all the daughters of my people”. Christ experienced the same thing in weeping over Jerusalem, when the people did not themselves weep. Out of context perhaps, but our eye affects our heart in what we see on TV, videos, or other things we see that can lower our standards.
v 52-55. Jeremiah refers to when he was cast into the miry pit, chap. 38. Some consider the stone was a lid, but they actually threw stones down in the pit at him.
v 56- 58. The Lord would deliver Judah if they called upon him as Jeremiah did.
v 59-66. Those of Judah who persecuted Jeremiah were punished by Babylon. God would punish Babylon for what they did, if Judah would call out to Him.