Lamentations 3:34-66

ל (Lamed)

3:34 To crush underfoot

all the earth’s prisoners, ¹ 

3:35 to deprive a person ²  of his rights ³ 

in the presence of the Most High,

3:36 to defraud a person in a lawsuit –

the Lord ⁴  does not approve ⁵  of such things!

מ (Mem)

3:37 Whose command was ever fulfilled ⁶ 

unless the Lord ⁷  decreed it?

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

both calamity and blessing? ⁸ 

3:39 Why should any living person ⁹  complain

when punished for his sins? ¹⁰ 

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ¹¹ 

and let us return to the Lord.

3:41 Let us lift up our hearts ¹²  and our hands

to God in heaven:

3:42 “We ¹³  have blatantly rebelled; ¹⁴ 

you ¹⁵  have not forgiven.”

ס (Samek)

3:43 You shrouded yourself ¹⁶  with anger and then pursued us;

you killed without mercy.

3:44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can get through.

3:45 You make us like filthy scum ¹⁷ 

in the estimation ¹⁸  of the nations.

פ (Pe)

3:46 All our enemies have gloated over us; ¹⁹ 

3:47 Panic and pitfall ²⁰  have come upon us,

devastation and destruction. ²¹ 

3:48 Streams ²²  of tears flow from my eyes ²³ 

because my people ²⁴  are destroyed. ²⁵ 

ע (Ayin)

3:49 Tears flow from my eyes ²⁶  and will not stop;

there will be no break ²⁷ 

3:50 until the Lord looks down from heaven

and sees what has happened. ²⁸ 

3:51 What my eyes see ²⁹  grieves me ³⁰  –

all the suffering of the daughters in my city. ³¹ 

צ (Tsade)

3:52 For no good reason ³²  my enemies

hunted me down ³³  like a bird.

3:53 They shut me ³⁴  up in a pit

and threw stones at me.

3:54 The waters closed over my head;

I thought ³⁵  I was about to die. ³⁶ 

ק (Qof)

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

from the deepest pit. ³⁷ 

3:56 You heard ³⁸  my plea: ³⁹ 

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!” ⁴⁰ 

3:57 You came near ⁴¹  on the day I called to you;

you said, ⁴²  “Do not fear!”

ר (Resh)

3:58 O Lord, ⁴³  you championed ⁴⁴  my cause, ⁴⁵ 

you redeemed my life.

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

pronounce judgment on my behalf! ⁴⁶ 

3:60 You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me. ⁴⁷ 

ש (Sin/Shin)

3:61 You have heard ⁴⁸  their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

3:62 My assailants revile and conspire ⁴⁹ 

against me all day long.

3:63 Watch them from morning to evening; ⁵⁰ 

I am the object of their mocking songs.

ת (Tav)

3:64 Pay them back ⁵¹  what they deserve, ⁵²  O Lord,

according to what they ⁵³  have done. ⁵⁴ 

3:65 Give them a distraught heart; ⁵⁵ 

may your curse be on them!

3:66 Pursue them ⁵⁶  in anger and eradicate them

from under the Lord’s heaven.

[3:34]  ¹ tn Heb “prisoners of earth/land.” The term ארצ may refer to (1) the earth or (2) a country or (3) the promised land in particular (as well as other referents). “Earth” is chosen here since the context presents God’s general principles in dealing with humanity. Given the historical circumstances, however, prisoners from the land of Israel are certainly in the background.

[3:35]  ² tn The speaking voice is still that of the גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”), but the context and line are more universal in character.

[3:35]  ³ tn Heb “to turn away a man’s justice,” that is, the justice or equitable judgment he would receive. See the previous note regarding the “man.”

[3:36]  ⁴ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[3:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord does not see.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) is here used in reference to mental observation and approval: “to gaze at” with joy and pleasure (e.g., 2 Kgs 10:16; Mic 7:9; Jer 29:32; Isa 52:8; Job 20:17; 33:28; Pss 54:9; 106:5; 128:5; Son 3:11; 6:11; Eccl 2:1). If the line is parallel to the end of v. 35 then a circumstantial clause “the Lord not seeing” would be appropriate. The infinitives in 34-36 would then depend on the verbs in v. 33; see D. R. Hillers, Lamentations (AB), 71.

[3:37]  ⁶ tn Heb “Who is this, he spoke and it came to pass?” The general sense is to ask whose commands are fulfilled. The phrase “he spoke and it came to pass” is taken as an allusion to the creation account (see Gen 1:3).

[3:37]  ⁷ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[3:38]  ⁸ tn Heb “From the mouth of the Most High does it not go forth, both evil and good?”

[3:39]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[3:40]  ¹¹ 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.”

[3:41]  ¹² tc The MT reads the singular noun לְבָבֵנוּ (lÿvavenu, “our heart”) but the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) and many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural noun לְבָבֵינוּ (lÿvavenu, “our hearts”). Hebrew regularly places plural pronouns on singular nouns used as a collective (135 times on the singular “heart” and only twice on the plural “hearts”). The plural “hearts” in any Hebrew construction is actually rather rare. The LXX renders similar Hebrew constructions (singular “heart” plus a plural pronoun) with the plural “hearts” about 1/3 of the time, therefore it cannot be considered evidence for the reading. The Vulgate may have been influenced by the LXX. Although a distributive sense is appropriate for a much higher percentage of passages using the plural “hearts” in the LXX, no clear reason for the differentiation in the LXX has emerged. Likely the singular Hebrew form is original but the meaning is best represented in English with the plural.

[3:42]  ¹³ tn The Heb emphasiszes the pronoun “We – we have sinned….” Given the contrast with the following, it means “For our part, we have sinned….” A poetic reading in English would place vocal emphasis on “we” followed by a short pause.

[3:42]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “We have revolted and we have rebelled.” The two verbs פָשַׁעְנוּ וּמָרִינוּ (pasha’nu umarinu, “we have revolted and we have rebelled”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the synonyms emphasize the single idea.

[3:42]  ¹⁵ tn The Heb emphasiszes the pronoun “You – you have not forgiven.” Given the contrast with the preceding, it means “For your part, you have not forgiven.” A poetic reading in English would place vocal emphasis on “you” followed by a short pause.

[3:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “covered.” The object must be supplied either from the next line (“covered yourself”) or from the end of this line (“covered us”).

[3:45]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “offscouring and refuse.” The two nouns סְחִי וּמָאוֹס (sÿkhi uma’os) probably form a nominal hendiadys, in which the first noun functions as an adjective and the second retains its full nominal sense: “filthy refuse,” i.e., “filthy scum.”

[3:45]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in the midst of.”

[3:46]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “open wide their mouths.”

[3:47]  ²⁰ tn The similar sounding nouns פַּחַד וָפַחַת (pakhad vafakhat, “panic and pitfall”) are an example of paronomasia.

[3:47]  ²¹ tn Similar to the paronomasia in the preceding line, the words הַשֵּׁאת וְהַשָּׁבֶר (hashe’t vÿhashaver, “devastation and destruction”) form an example of alliteration: the beginning of the words sound alike.

[3:48]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “my eyes flow down with canals of water.”

[3:48]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the daughter of my people,” or “the Daughter, my people.”

[3:48]  ²⁵ tn Heb “because of the destruction of [the daughter of my people].”

[3:49]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my eye flows.” The term “eye” is a metonymy of association, standing for the “tears” which flow from one’s eyes.

[3:49]  ²⁷ tn 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”).

[3:50]  ²⁸ tn The phrase “what has happened” is added in the translation for smoother English style and readability.

[3:51]  ²⁹ tn 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]  ³⁰ tn Heb “my soul.” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= me).

[3:51]  ³¹ tn 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.

[3:52]  ³² tn Heb “without cause.”

[3:52]  ³³ tn The construction צוֹד צָדוּנִי (tsod tsaduni, “they have hunted me down”) is emphatic: Qal infinitive absolute of the same root of Qal perfect 3rd person common plural + 1st person common singular suffix.

[3:53]  ³⁴ tn Heb “my life.”

[3:54]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”

[3:54]  ³⁶ 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).

[3:55]  ³⁷ tn Heb “from a pit of lowest places.”

[3:56]  ³⁸ tn The verb could be understood as a precative, “hear my plea,” parallel to the following volitive verb, “do not close.”

[3:56]  ³⁹ tn Heb “my voice.”

[3:56]  ⁴⁰ tn The preposition ל (lamed) continues syntactically from “my plea” in the previous line (e.g. Ex 5:2; Josh 22:2; 1 Sam 8:7; 12:1; Jer 43:4).

[3:57]  ⁴¹ tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Draw near”). The perspective of the poem seems to be that of prayer during distress rather than a testimony that God has delivered.

[3:57]  ⁴² tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Say”).

[3:58]  ⁴³ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”) as in the following verse. See the tc note at 1:14.

[3:58]  ⁴⁴ tn This verb, like others in this stanza, could be understood as a precative (“Plead”).

[3:58]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the causes of my soul.” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= me).

[3:59]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Please judge my judgment.”

[3:60]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT reads לִי (li, “to me”); but many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate) all reflect a Vorlage of עָלָי (’alay, “against me”).

[3:61]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Hear”).

[3:62]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the lips of my assailants and their thoughts.”

[3:63]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “their rising and their sitting.” The two terms שִׁבְתָּם וְקִימָתָם (shivtam vÿqimatam, “their sitting and their rising”) form a merism: two terms that are polar opposites are used to encompass everything in between. The idiom “from your rising to your sitting” refers to the earliest action in the morning and the latest action in the evening (e.g., Deut 6:7; Ps 139:3). The enemies mock Jerusalem from the moment they arise in the morning until the moment they sit down in the evening.

[3:64]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ tn Heb “their hands.” The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (= hands) for the whole person (= they).

[3:64]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “according to the work of their hands.”

[3:65]  ⁵⁵ tn The noun מְגִנַּה (mÿginnah) is a hapax legomenon. Its meaning is debated; earlier lexicographers suggested that it meant “covering” (BDB 171 s.v.), but more recent lexicons suggest “shamelessness” or “insanity” (HALOT 546 s.v.). The translation is based on the term being parallel to “curse” and needing to relate to “heart.” Cf. NRSV “anguish of heart.”

[3:66]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “pursue.” The accusative direct object is implied in the Hebrew, and inserted in the translation.