Lamentations 3:21

3:21 But this I call ¹  to mind; ² 

therefore I have hope:

Lamentations 3:24

3:24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, ³ 

so I will put my hope in him.

Lamentations 3:39

3:39 Why should any living person ⁴  complain

when punished for his sins? ⁵ 

Lamentations 3:48

3:48 Streams ⁶  of tears flow from my eyes ⁷ 

because my people ⁸  are destroyed. ⁹ 

Lamentations 5:5

5:5 We are pursued – they are breathing down our necks; ¹⁰ 

we are weary and have no rest. ¹¹ 

Lamentations 5:18

5:18 For wild animals ¹²  are prowling over Mount Zion,

which lies desolate.

[3:21]  ¹ tn Heb “I cause to return.”

[3:21]  ² tn Heb “to my heart.” The noun לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) has a broad range of meanings, including its use as a metonymy of association, standing for thoughts and thinking = “mind” (e.g., Deut 32:46; 1 Chr 29:18; Job 17:11; Ps 73:7; Isa 10:7; Hag 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18; Zech 7:10; 8:17).

[3:24]  ³ tn Heb “My soul said…” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= I ).

[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.

[3:48]  ⁷ tn 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “my eyes flow down with canals of water.”

[3:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “the daughter of my people,” or “the Daughter, my people.”

[3:48]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because of the destruction of [the daughter of my people].”

[5:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “We are hard-driven on our necks”

[5:5]  ¹⁰ sn For the theological allusion that goes beyond physical rest, see, e.g., Deut 12:10; 25:19; Josh 1:13; 11:23; 2 Sam 7:1, 11; 1 Chron 22:18; 2 Chron 14:6-7

[5:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “jackals.” The term “jackals” is a synecdoche of species (= jackals) for general (= wild animals).