←Lamentations 3→BSB

In This Chapter 69 terms 2 resources

Key Terms

Kindness (Solidarity) 5 Arrow 3 Steadiness (Quality) 3 Salvation (Deliverance) 3 Peace 2 Hope 2 Rebel (Against Authority) 2 Be Rebellious 2 Fear 2 To Redeem (Liberate) 2 Be Kind Kindness (Benevolence) Kindness (Graciousness) Kindness (Affection) Be Complete Complete Complete Certainty Be Fully Assured Faithfulness (Truth) Faithful Faithfulness (Trust) Salvation Save (Help) Salvation (State) Save (Restore) Salvation (Physical) Salvation (Rescuer) Save (Rescue) Salvation (Means) Saving (Means) Hope (NT) Sin (Offense) To Sin Sin Guilt (State) Transgression Sin (Act) Sin (Incur Guilt) Guilty (Responsible) Guilt (Consequence) Guiltiness Trespass (Sin) Sinful To Stand Guilty Sin (Guilty) Sin (Wrongdoing) Guilty Considered Guilty Guilty Of Sin Previously Sin Against Rebel (Act) Rebellion (Offense) Rebellion Rebelliousness Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Redeem To Redeem (Deliver) Redemption (Right) To Redeem (Substitute) Let Be Redeemed Redemption (Deliverance)

Resources

Lamentations Book Overview Poetry, Biblical Articles

The Prophet’s Afflictions

ⓘ The author speaks of the suffering of Judah...

The author speaks of the suffering of Judah and Jerusalem as his own.
ⓘ In this chapter, the author laments what has...

In this chapter, the author laments what has happened (3:1–20, 48–54), remembers the faithful love of the Lord (3:21–25), describes how God’s people should respond (3:26–47), and calls upon the Lord in prayer (3:55–66).
1I† am the man who has seen afflictionunder the rod of God’s wrath.2He has driven me away and made me walkin darkness instead of light.3Indeed, He keeps turning His handagainst me all day long.
4He has worn away my flesh and skin;He has shattered my bones.5He has besieged me and surrounded mewith bitterness and hardship.
ⓘ Some understand these verses as a poetic reference...

Some understand these verses as a poetic reference to Jeremiah’s confinement in a muddy cistern before the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer 38:6–13).
6He has made me dwell in darknesslike those dead for ages.
7He has walled me in so I cannot escape;He has weighed me down with chains.8Even when I cry out and plead for help,He shuts out my prayer.9He has barred my ways with cut stones;He has made my paths crooked.
10He is a bear lying in wait,a lion hiding in ambush.11He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces;He left me without help.12He bent His bowand set me as the target for His arrow.
13He pierced my kidneyswith His arrows.14I am a laughingstock to all my people;they mock me in song all day long.15He has filled me with bitterness;He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
16He has ground my teeth with graveland trampled me in the dust.17My soul has been deprived of peace;I have forgotten what prosperity is.18So I say, “My strength has perished,along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

19Remember my affliction and wandering,the wormwood and the gall.20Surely my soul remembersand is humbled within me.21Yet I call this to mind,and therefore I have hope:
ⓘ God’s love and faithfulness never cease. Just as...

God’s love and faithfulness never cease. Just as God had been faithful in bringing judgment on Jerusalem for their sins, he would be faithful in bringing restoration to those who returned to him.
22Because of the loving devotion† of the LORD we are not consumed,for His mercies never fail.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 who seeks Him.26It is good to wait quietlyfor the salvation of the LORD.27It is good for a man to bear the yokewhile he is still young.
28Let him sit alone in silence,for the LORD has laid it upon him.
ⓘ In the ancient Near East, lying face down...
29Let him bury his face in the dust—perhaps there is still hope.30Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;let him be filled with reproach.
31For the Lord will notcast us off forever.32Even if He causes grief, He will show compassionaccording to His abundant loving devotion.33For He does not willingly afflictor grieve the sons of men.
ⓘ The people of Judah were doing such things...

The people of Judah were doing such things before Jerusalem was destroyed (see Jer 5:26–31; 21:11–14; 23:10–14; Mic 3).
34To crush underfootall the prisoners of the land,35to deny a man justicebefore the Most High,36to subvert a man in his lawsuit—of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

ⓘ Some calamities have natural causes (Luke 13:1–5), and...

Some calamities have natural causes (Luke 13:1–5), and bad things happen to the righteous as well as to the wicked (Matt 5:45); whatever happens, we should give thanks (1 Thes 5:18) and not complain.
37Who has spoken and it came to pass,unless the Lord has ordained it?38Do not both adversity and goodcome from the mouth of the Most High?39Why should any mortal man complain,in view of his sins?
ⓘ Repentance is the key to receiving salvation (Isa...

Repentance is the key to receiving salvation (Isa 1:27; Jer 3:22; Ezek 3:21).
40Let us examine and test our ways,and turn back to the LORD.41Let us lift up our hearts and handsto God in heaven:42“We have sinned and rebelled;You have not forgiven.”
43You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;You have killed without pity.44You have covered Yourself with a cloudthat no prayer can pass through.45You have made us scum and refuseamong the nations.
46All our enemiesopen their mouths against us.47Panic and pitfall have come upon us—devastation and destruction.
ⓘ The author focuses on the viciousness of the...

The author focuses on the viciousness of the enemies and cries out to the Lord.
48Streams of tears flow from my eyesover the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49My eyes overflow unceasingly,without relief,50until the LORDlooks down from heaven and sees.51My eyes bring grief to my soulbecause of all the daughters of my city.
ⓘ This passage might refer to Jeremiah’s experience in...

This passage might refer to Jeremiah’s experience in the cistern (Jer 37:11–15; 38:1–13).
52Without cause my enemieshunted me like a bird.53They dropped me alive into a pitand cast stones upon me.54The waters flowed over my head,and I thought I was going to die.
55I called on Your name, O LORD,out of the depths of the Pit.56You heard my plea:“Do not ignore my cry for relief.”57You drew near when I called on You;You said, “Do not be afraid.”
ⓘ Jerusalem deserved punishment, but the enemies carried it...

Jerusalem deserved punishment, but the enemies carried it out with undeserved cruelty. The writer calls upon God to punish them.
58You defend my cause, O Lord;You redeem my life.59You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me;vindicate my cause!60You have seen all their malice,all their plots against me.
61O LORD, You have heard their insults,all their plots against me—62the slander and murmuring of my assailantsagainst me all day long.63When they sit and when they rise,see how they mock me in song.
ⓘ This prayer for vengeance is similar to several...

This prayer for vengeance is similar to several psalms (see “Prayers for Vengeance” Theme Note).
64You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,according to the work of their hands.65Put a veil of anguish over their hearts;may Your curse be upon them!66You will pursue them in anger and exterminate themfrom under Your heavens, O LORD.