Lamentations 3:56-61

Context

3:56 You heard¹ my plea:²

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”³

3:57 You came near⁴ on the day I called to you;

you said,⁵ “Do not fear!”

ר (Resh)

3:58 O Lord,⁶ you championed⁷ my cause,⁸

you redeemed my life.

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

pronounce judgment on my behalf!⁹

3:60 You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me.¹⁰

ש (Sin/Shin)

3:61 You have heard¹¹ their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

[3:56] ¹tn The verb could be understood as a precative, “hear my plea,” parallel to the following volitive verb, “do not close.”

[3:56] ²tn Heb “my voice.”

[3:56] ³tn 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] ⁴tn 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] ⁵tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Say”).

[3:58] ⁷tc 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] ⁸tn This verb, like others in this stanza, could be understood as a precative (“Plead”).

[3:58] ⁹tn 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] ¹⁰tn Heb “Please judge my judgment.”

[3:60] ¹³tc 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] ¹⁶tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Hear”).