3:1   I have suffered much because God was angry.

3:2   He chased me into a dark place, where no light could enter.

3:3   I am the only one he punishes over and over again, without ever stopping.

3:4   God caused my skin and flesh to waste away, and he crushed my bones.

3:5   He attacked and surrounded me with hardships and trouble;

3:6   he forced me to sit in the dark like someone long dead.

3:7   God built a fence around me that I cannot climb over, and he chained me down.

3:8   Even when I shouted and prayed for help, he refused to listen.

3:9   God put big rocks in my way and made me follow a crooked path.

3:10   God was like a bear or a lion waiting in ambush for me;

3:11   he dragged me from the road, then tore me to shreds.

3:12   God took careful aim and shot his arrows

3:13   straight through my heart.

3:14   I am a joke to everyone-- no one ever stops making fun of me.

3:15   God has turned my life sour.

3:16   He made me eat gravel and rubbed me in the dirt.

3:17   I cannot find peace or remember happiness.

3:18   I tell myself, "I am finished! I can't count on the LORD to do anything for me."

3:19   Just thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering makes me miserable.

3:20   That's all I ever think about, and I am depressed.

3:21   Then I remember something that fills me with hope.

3:22   The LORD's kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed.

3:23   The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy each morning.

3:24   Deep in my heart I say, "The LORD is all I need; I can depend on him!"

3:25   The LORD is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him.

3:26   It is good to wait patiently for the LORD to save us.

3:27   When we are young, it is good to struggle hard

3:28   and to sit silently alone, if this is what the LORD intends.

3:29   Being rubbed in the dirt can teach us a lesson;

3:30   we can also learn from insults and hard knocks.

3:31   The Lord won't always reject us!

3:32   He causes a lot of suffering, but he also has pity because of his great love.

3:33   The Lord doesn't enjoy sending grief or pain.

3:34   Don't trample prisoners under your feet

3:35   or cheat anyone out of what is rightfully theirs. God Most High sees everything,

3:36   and he knows when you refuse to give someone a fair trial.

3:37   No one can do anything without the Lord's approval.

3:38   Good and bad each happen at the command of God Most High.

3:39   We're still alive! We shouldn't complain when we are being punished for our sins.

3:40   Instead, we should think about the way we are living, and turn back to the LORD.

3:41   When we lift our hands in prayer to God in heaven, we should offer him our hearts and say,

3:42   "We've sinned! We've rebelled against you, and you haven't forgiven us!

3:43   Anger is written all over you, as you pursue and slaughter us without showing pity.

3:44   You are behind a wall of clouds that blocks out our prayers.

3:45   You allowed nations to treat us like garbage;

3:46   our enemies curse us.

3:47   We are terrified and trapped, caught and crushed."

3:48   My people are destroyed! Tears flood my eyes,

3:49   and they won't stop

3:50   until the LORD looks down from heaven and helps.

3:51   I am horrified when I see what enemies have done to the young women of our city.

3:52   No one had reason to hate me, but I was hunted down like a bird.

3:53   Then they tried to kill me by tossing me into a pit and throwing stones at me.

3:54   Water covered my head-- I thought I was gone.

3:55   From the bottom of the pit, I prayed to you, LORD.

3:56   I begged you to listen. "Help!" I shouted. "Save me!" You answered my prayer

3:57   and came when I was in need. You told me, "Don't worry!"

3:58   You rescued me and saved my life.

3:59   You saw them abuse me, LORD, so make things right.

3:60   You know every plot they have made against me.

3:61   Yes, you know their insults and their evil plans.

3:62   All day long they attack with words and whispers.

3:63   No matter what they are doing, they keep on mocking me.

3:64   Pay them back for everything they have done, LORD!

3:65   Put your curse on them and make them suffer.

3:66   Get angry and go after them until not a trace is left under the heavens.