Lamentations 3:54-57

3:54 The waters closed over my head;

I thought ¹  I was about to die. ² 

ק (Qof)

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

from the deepest pit. ³ 

3:56 You heard ⁴  my plea: ⁵ 

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!” ⁶ 

3:57 You came near ⁷  on the day I called to you;

you said, ⁸  “Do not fear!”

[3:54]  ¹ tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”

[3:54]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “from a pit of lowest places.”

[3:56]  ⁴ tn The verb could be understood as a precative, “hear my plea,” parallel to the following volitive verb, “do not close.”

[3:56]  ⁵ tn Heb “my voice.”

[3:56]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Say”).