Lamentations 3:7

ג (Gimel)

3:7 He has walled me in ¹  so that I cannot get out;

he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains. ² 

Lamentations 3:9

3:9 He has blocked ³  every road I take ⁴  with a wall of hewn stones;

he has made every path impassable. ⁵ 

[3:7]  ¹ tn The verb גָּדַר (garad) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “to build up a wall” with stones, and (2) “to block a road” with a wall of stones. The imagery depicts the Lord building a wall to seal off personified Jerusalem with no way of escape out of the city, or the Lord blocking the road of escape. Siege imagery prevails in 3:4-6, but 3:7-9 pictures an unsuccessful escape that is thwarted due to blocked roads in 3:7 and 3:9.

[3:7]  ² tn Heb “he has made heavy my chains.”

[3:9]  ³ tn The verb גָּדַר (garad) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “to build up a wall” with stones, and (2) “to block a road” with a wall of stones. The collocated terms דְּרָכַי (dÿrakhay, “my roads”) in 3:9 clearly indicate that the second category of meaning is in view.

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “my roads.”

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “he had made my paths crooked.” The implication is that the paths by which one might escape cannot be traversed.