Chapter Three

1–18. Grave trials which the prophet experienced together with other believing Israelites. 19–39. Revival in the prophet’s heart of hope for a better future. 40–54. Acknowledgment of the justice of the punishment sent upon the Jews, from which, however, God will surely free his people. 56–66. The prayer of the prophet, in which he expresses his confidence that God will help him and avenge his enemies.

(Lam 3:1-18.) The prophet, on behalf of all believers, expresses sorrow for the sufferings which the Lord sends upon him. The prophet’s position is hopeless, because God himself has armed himself against him. He is completely losing heart.

Lamentations 3:1. I am a man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath. “I am a man.” One should not think that the prophet here speaks of his personal sufferings, which he endured during the siege and capture of Jerusalem. He appears here as a representative of the Jews who preserved faith in God; his own suffering constitutes only one moment in the portrayal of the dreadful judgment of God, which has fallen upon the Jews. It is remarkable that here, as in the following verses, the prophet uses expressions from the book of Job (cf. Job 21:9). Evidently, he had in mind the image of this great sufferer when he thought about his sufferings and the sufferings of his fellow countrymen.

Lamentations 3:9. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone, he has made my paths crooked. “Made my paths crooked” — more accurately: “spoiled the path by which I could go.”

Lamentations 3:13. He has shot into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver. The kidneys are a very important organ in the human body.

Lamentations 3:14. I have become a laughingstock to all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. Most of the Jews evidently did not turn to the true path even when the Lord punished them with terrible calamities. They even mocked such of their fellow citizens who saw in their own misfortunes and the misfortunes of their fatherland the chastening hand of Jehovah.

Lamentations 3:17. And peace has departed from my soul; I have forgotten what happiness is; “Forgotten what happiness is,” that is, does not believe that any happiness could exist on earth! (Lam 3:19-39.) From the darkness of suffering, for the prophet a ray of hope and comfort breaks forth again. He strives to overcome his doubts and this succeeds for him: the prophet can pray again! He asks the Lord to remember him, and on his own part seeks to find support for his hope. He finds this support, first of all, in the conviction that the Kingdom of God still exists, that there is still a remnant of believers, which can serve as the beginning for the renewal of the people. And since the existence of this chosen remnant is the work of God’s goodness, which continues to manifest itself toward the believers, the prophet, seeing such a fact, begins to look more calmly upon his sufferings and the sufferings of other believers. If we will patiently bear these sufferings, then the merciful Lord will again restore our well-being. Therefore — says the prophet — suffering evidently has an educational significance for us, and we should mourn not suffering itself, but its cause — sin.

Lamentations 3:21. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Better to translate: “Here is what I think about, here is my hope.” The following verse presents an explanation of precisely what the prophet bases his hope on.

Lamentations 3:22. By the mercy of the Lord we have not perished, for His compassions have not failed. Better to translate: “the mercies of Jehovah have not yet ceased.” — This verse, and equally the following twelve, present not only the middle of the third chapter, but also the middle of the book. They indeed contain the central thought, the light of which falls upon both the preceding and the following half of the book — the thought of God’s goodness, which serves as the foundation of human hope. (Lam 3:40-54.) Having proved that the Lord never strikes people with sufferings without reason, the prophet sees in the fate of himself and his people a natural consequence of the sins by which Israel angered God. And so the prophet now makes his request to God in a different tone, asking for freedom from sufferings. Now he speaks no longer in the spirit of hopelessness, but repents and accuses himself as a representative of his people. At the same time, he cannot help but portray the intensity of his sufferings; indeed, he wished to help his people, and yet the people saw in him an enemy and persecuted him in every way.

Lamentations 3:48. Streams of tears flow from my eyes because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. “Because of the destruction of the daughter” — more correctly: because of the destruction of the daughters, or simply, because of the destruction of my people. (Lam 3:55-66.) Like the first and second chapters, the third chapter concludes with an earnest prayer, in which the prophet, having repeatedly experienced that God hears the prayers of those who call upon him, now asks God to avenge his offenders by their complete destruction.

Lamentations 3:56. You have heard my plea, O Lord; do not close your ear to my cry for relief! “The prayer of a righteous man,” says blessed Augustine, “is a key to heaven. While the prayer ascends to heaven, from heaven mercy of God descends.”

Lamentations 3:59. You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; judge my cause. “My cause.” The prophet here speaks on behalf of the believers.

Lamentations 3:63. Behold, sit down or stand, I am their song. “I am their song,” that is, I am the subject of their mockery, which they even compose playful songs about.