Lamentations 3:11

3:11 He has obstructed my paths ¹  and torn me to pieces; ² 

he has made me desolate.

Lamentations 3:38-39

3:38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes –

both calamity and blessing? ³ 

3:39 Why should any living person ⁴  complain

when punished for his sins? ⁵ 

[3:11]  ¹ tn Or “he made my paths deviate.”

[3:11]  ² tn “Since the Heb. וַיְפַשְּׁחֵנִי (vaypashÿkheni) occurs only here, and the translation relies on the Syriac and the Targum, it is not certain that the image of God as a predatory animal continues into this verse especially since [the beginning of the verse] is also of uncertain meaning” (D. R. Hillers, Lamentations [AB], 54).

[3:38]  ³ tn Heb “From the mouth of the Most High does it not go forth, both evil and good?”

[3:39]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word here is אָדָם (’adam) which can mean “man” or “person.” The second half of the line is more personalized to the speaking voice of the defeated soldier using גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). See the note at 3:1.

[3:39]  ⁶ tc Kethib reads the singular חֶטְאוֹ (khet’o, “his sin”), which is reflected in the LXX. Qere reads the plural חֲטָאָיו (khata’ayv, “his sins”) which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss and reflected in the other early versions (Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate). The external and internal evidence are not decisive in favor of either reading.