Lamentations 3:29

3:29 Let him bury his face in the dust; ¹ 

perhaps there is hope.

Lamentations 3:54

3:54 The waters closed over my head;

I thought ²  I was about to die. ³ 

Lamentations 3:66

3:66 Pursue them ⁴  in anger and eradicate them

from under the Lord’s heaven.

Lamentations 5:1

The People of Jerusalem Pray:

5:1 ⁵ O Lord, reflect on ⁶  what has happened to us;

consider ⁷  and look at ⁸  our disgrace.

[3:29]  ¹ tn Heb “Let him put his mouth in the dust.”

[3:54]  ² tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”

[3:54]  ³ tn Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).

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

[5:1]  ⁴ sn The speaking voice is now that of a choir singing the community’s lament in the first person plural. The poem is not an alphabetic acrostic like the preceding chapters but has 22 verses, the same as the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

[5:1]  ⁵ tn The basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind” (HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר). Although often used of recollection of past events, זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) can also describe consideration of present situations: “to consider, think about” something present (BDB 270 s.v. 5), hence “reflect on,” the most appropriate nuance here. Verses 1-6 describe the present plight of Jerusalem. The parallel requests הַבֵּיט וּרְאֵה (habbet urÿ’eh, “Look and see!”) have a present-time orientation as well. See also 2:1; 3:19-20.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look!” Although often used in reference to visual perception, נָבַט (navat, “to look”) can also refer to cognitive consideration and mental attention shown to a situation: “to regard” (e.g., 1 Sam 16:7; 2 Kgs 3:14), “to pay attention to, consider” (e.g., Isa 22:8; Isa 51:1, 2).

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Although normally used in reference to visual sight, רָאָה (ra’ah) is often used in reference to cognitive processes and mental observation. See the note on “Consider” at 2:20.