Lamentations 3:48-49

Context

3:48 Streams¹ of tears flow from my eyes²

because my people³ are destroyed.⁴

ע (Ayin)

3:49 Tears flow from my eyes⁵ and will not stop;

there will be no break⁶

Lamentations 3:51

Context

3:51 What my eyes see⁷ grieves me⁸ –

all the suffering of the daughters in my city.⁹

[3:48] ¹tn Heb “canals.” The phrase “canals of water” (eye water = tears) is an example of hyperbole. The English idiom “streams of tears” is also hyperbolic.

[3:48] ²tn Heb “my eyes flow down with canals of water.”

[3:48] ³tn Heb “the daughter of my people,” or “the Daughter, my people.”

[3:48] ⁴tn Heb “because of the destruction of [the daughter of my people].”

[3:49] ⁵tn Heb “my eye flows.” The term “eye” is a metonymy of association, standing for the “tears” which flow from one’s eyes.

[3:49] ⁶tn Heb “without stopping.” The noun הַפוּגָה (hafugah, “stop”) is a hapax legomenon (word that occurs only once in Hebrew scriptures). The form of the noun is unusual, probably being derived from the denominative Hiphil verbal stem of the root פּוּג (pug, “to grow weary, ineffective; numb, become cold”).

[3:51] ⁷tn Heb “my eye causes grief to my soul.” The term “eye” is a metonymy of association, standing for that which one sees with the eyes.

[3:51] ⁸tn Heb “my soul.” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= me).

[3:51] ⁹tn Heb “at the sight of all the daughters of my city.” It is understood that seeing the plight of the women, not simply seeing the women, is what is so grievous. To make this clear, “suffering” was supplied in the translation.