Lamentations 3:25-26

ט (Tet)

3:25 The Lord is good to those who trust ¹  in him,

to the one ²  who seeks him.

3:26 It is good to wait patiently ³ 

for deliverance from the Lord. ⁴ 

Lamentations 3:40

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ⁵ 

and let us return to the Lord.

Lamentations 3:50

3:50 until the Lord looks down from heaven

and sees what has happened. ⁶ 

Lamentations 3:55

ק (Qof)

3:55 I have called on your name, O Lord,

from the deepest pit. ⁷ 

Lamentations 3:59

3:59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;

pronounce judgment on my behalf! ⁸ 

Lamentations 3:61

ש (Sin/Shin)

3:61 You have heard ⁹  their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

Lamentations 3:64

ת (Tav)

3:64 Pay them back ¹⁰  what they deserve, ¹¹  O Lord,

according to what they ¹²  have done. ¹³ 

Lamentations 3:66

3:66 Pursue them ¹⁴  in anger and eradicate them

from under the Lord’s heaven.

[3:25]  ¹ tn Heb “wait for him”

[3:25]  ² tn Heb “to the soul…” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= “the soul who seeks him”) for the whole person (= “the person who seeks him”).

[3:26]  ³ tn Heb “waiting and silently.” The two adjectives וְיָחִיל וְדוּמָם (vÿyakhil vÿdumam, “waiting and silently”) form a hendiadys: The first functions verbally and the second functions adverbially: “to wait silently.” The adjective דוּמָם (dumam, “silently”) also functions as a metonymy of association, standing for patience or rest (HALOT 217 s.v.). This metonymical nuance is captured well in less literal English versions: “wait in patience” (TEV) and “wait patiently” (CEV, NJPS). The more literal English versions do not express the metonymy as well: “quietly wait” (KJV, NKJV, ASV), “waits silently” (NASB), “wait quietly” (RSV, NRSV, NIV).

[3:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “deliverance of the Lord.” In the genitive-construct, the genitive יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”) denotes source, that is, he is the source of the deliverance: “deliverance from the Lord.”

[3:40]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

[3:50]  ⁷ tn The phrase “what has happened” is added in the translation for smoother English style and readability.

[3:55]  ⁹ tn Heb “from a pit of lowest places.”

[3:59]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Please judge my judgment.”

[3:61]  ¹³ tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Hear”).

[3:64]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Please cause to return.” The imperfect verb תָּשִׁיב (tashiv), Hiphil imperfect 2nd person masculine singular from שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”), functions in a volitional sense, like an imperative of request. The Hiphil stem of שׁוּב (shuv, in the Hiphil “to cause to return”) often means “to make requital, to pay back” (e.g., Judg 9:5, 56; 1 Sam 25:39; 1 Kgs 2:32, 44; Neh 3:36; Prov 24:12, 29; Hos 12:3; Joel 4:4, 7) (BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב 4.a).

[3:64]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “recompense to them.” The noun גְּמוּל (gÿmul, “dealing, accomplishment”) has two metonymical (cause-effect) meanings: (1) positive “benefit” and (2) negative “retribution, requital, recompense,” the sense used here (e.g., Pss 28:4; 94:2; 137:8; Prov 19:17; Isa 35:4; 59:18; 66:6; Jer 51:6; Lam 3:64; Joel 4:4, 7). The phrase תָּשִׁיב גְּמוּל (tashiv gÿmul) means “to pay back retribution” (e.g., Joel 4:4, 7), that is, to return the deeds of the wicked upon them as a display of talionic or poetic justice.

[3:64]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their hands.” The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (= hands) for the whole person (= they).

[3:64]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to the work of their hands.”

[3:66]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “pursue.” The accusative direct object is implied in the Hebrew, and inserted in the translation.