Suffering and Hope in God's Steadfast Love
Lamentations 3:1-66
Lam.3.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- הגבר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- בשבט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עברתו: NOUN,f,sg,cs
Parallels
- Isaiah 53:3-4 (thematic): Both present a solitary figure who endures deep suffering—'a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief' resonates with Lamentations' 'I the man have seen affliction.'
- Psalm 119:75 (verbal): Speaks of God afflicting the speaker ('in faithfulness you have afflicted me'), echoing Lamentations' language of affliction by the rod of the Lord's wrath.
- Deuteronomy 8:5 (structural): Frames suffering as divine discipline ('as a man disciplines his son'), providing the covenantal background for describing affliction as the Lord's corrective rod.
- Job 30:16-20 (thematic): Job's personal lament about intense suffering, divine neglect, and being stricken at God's hand parallels the first-person voice of anguish in Lamentations 3:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his anger.
- I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath.
Lam.3.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אותי: PRON,1,sg,acc
- נהג: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וילך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- אור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 50:10 (verbal): Uses the same language of 'walking in darkness' and 'having no light'—a close verbal and thematic parallel about trusting God amid darkness.
- Psalm 88:6 (thematic): Speaks of being placed 'in darkness' and the depths by God or fate—a theme of divinely‑ordained suffering and gloom.
- Psalm 143:3 (verbal): Describes being made to 'sit in darkness' like the dead; echoes Lamentations' motif of being led into darkness and afflicted.
- Psalm 107:10 (thematic): Depicts those who 'sat in darkness and in the shadow of death'—the image of captivity and lack of light parallels Lamentations' portrayal of grim guidance into darkness.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness, not in light.
- He drove me and caused me to walk in darkness, not in light.
Lam.3.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אך: PART
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהפך: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- ידו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Lam.3.2 (structural): Immediate neighbor in the same poem describing divine action against the speaker—'he has driven me and made me walk in darkness'—complements 'he turns his hand against me all day.'
- Lam.3.5 (structural): Another verse in the same unit portraying God's oppressive activity—'he has walled me about... he has made my chains heavy'—a continuation of the theme of persistent divine hostility.
- Ps.88:16 (thematic): The psalmist laments God's overwhelming wrath and terror ('your wrath has gone over me'), echoing the sense of God continually opposing and afflicting the speaker.
- Job 30:20 (thematic): Job's complaint that God does not answer and seems hostile ('I cry to you, and you do not answer me') parallels the experience of continuous divine opposition expressed in Lam. 3:3.
- Ps.77:8 (thematic): The question whether God's steadfast love has ceased ('Has his steadfast love forever ceased?') reflects the same feeling of abandonment and ongoing divine displeasure found in Lamentations 3:3.
Alternative generated candidates
- Indeed he has turned his hand against me continually, all the day.
- Against me he sat and turned his hand against me all the day.
Lam.3.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בשרי: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- ועורי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1s
- שבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עצמותי: NOUN,f,pl,poss1
Parallels
- Psalm 38:3-4 (verbal): Speaks of physical wasting and affliction—'there is no soundness in my flesh; my bones are wasted'—closely echoing Lamentations' language of flesh and broken bones as divine punishment.
- Psalm 31:10 (thematic): Confesses life spent in sorrow and bones consumed/wasted, thematically paralleling the lament over bodily destruction in Lamentations 3:4.
- Psalm 22:14 (verbal): Uses imagery of bodily dislocation—'all my bones are out of joint'—another vivid portrayal of bone distress that resonates with Lamentations' broken-bones motif.
- Psalm 51:8 (verbal): Speaks of broken bones ('let the bones you have broken rejoice'), using broken-bone imagery in a penitential context related to divine judgment or restoration—parallels Lamentations' broken-bones metaphor.
- Isaiah 1:6 (thematic): Describes comprehensive bodily ruin ('from the sole of the foot to the head there is no soundness'), thematically similar to Lamentations' depiction of corporeal devastation as a consequence of judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones.
- He has made my flesh and skin waste away; he has broken my bones.
Lam.3.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בנה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,3,f,sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ויקף: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותלאה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 22:12-18 (thematic): Imagery of being surrounded and beset by hostile forces—Psalmist describes enemies encircling him like beasts, similar to Lamentations’ language of being hemmed in and afflicted.
- Job 19:8-9 (verbal): Job speaks of being fenced in and stripped of his honor—'he hath fenced up my way' and 'taken the crown from my head' echo Lamentations’ motif of enclosure and assault on the speaker’s head/honor.
- Psalm 88:8-9 (thematic): A sense of abandonment and separation—'Thou hast removed friend and neighbour far from me' parallels Lamentations’ depiction of isolation and encirclement by misery.
- Lamentations 3:52-53 (structural): Internal parallel within the same chapter: verses immediately describe enemies drawing near and afflicting the speaker, developing the same besiegement imagery found in 3:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has besieged me and surrounded my head; he has laid me waste and made me desolate.
- He has built against me and encircled my head; he has laid me low and brought me to ruin.
Lam.3.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- במחשכים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הושיבני: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg,pr-1cs
- כמתי: PREP+ADJ,m,pl,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lamentations 3:2 (verbal): Same stanza: the speaker says God has driven him and made him walk in darkness—an immediate verbal and thematic parallel within the chapter (darkness and divine action).
- Job 10:21-22 (thematic): Job laments being consigned to ‘the land of darkness and deep shadow,’ echoing Lamentations’ image of being set in darkness and as one who is dead or long-departed.
- Psalm 88:6-7 (thematic): The psalmist speaks of being laid in the lowest pit, ‘in darkness, in the deeps,’ a closely related image of exclusion, gloom, and nearness to death.
- Psalm 31:12 (allusion): The speaker describes himself as ‘forgotten as a dead man’ (or like a broken vessel), paralleling Lamentations’ simile of being placed among the dead and treated as one long gone.
- Isaiah 38:10 (thematic): Hezekiah’s expression of going to the gates of Sheol and the expectation of death parallels the emotion and theme of being set among the dead and removed from the living.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has set me in dark places like those long dead.
- He has seated me in darkness like the dead of long ago.
Lam.3.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גדר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בעדי: PREP+1,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- אצא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- הכביד: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- נחשתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,common,sg
Parallels
- Job 19:8 (verbal): Job 19:8 says God ‘has fenced up my way that I cannot pass,’ closely echoing Lamentations’ image of being walled in and unable to escape.
- Psalm 88:8 (verbal): Psalm 88:8 (in many translations) uses the language of being ‘shut up’ and unable to come forth, paralleling the confinement motif of Lamentations 3:7.
- Psalm 107:10–11 (thematic): These verses describe prisoners ‘sitting in darkness, bound in affliction and irons,’ thematically paralleling the imagery of heavy chains and captivity in Lamentations 3:7.
- Proverbs 5:22 (thematic): Proverbs speaks of the wicked being ‘caught’ or ‘ensnared’ by their own iniquities—using cords/cordage imagery that echoes the idea of being bound by heavy chains in Lamentations 3:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has hedged me about so that I cannot go out; he has made my chain heavy.
- He has hedged up my way so I cannot pass; he has made my paths crooked.
Lam.3.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- כי: CONJ
- אזעק: VERB,qal,impf,1,-,sg
- ואשוע: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- שתם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תפלתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
Parallels
- Psalm 77:1 (verbal): Both verses use the language of crying aloud to God and asserting that God does not answer — a near-verbal echo of an unanswered cry.
- Job 30:20 (verbal): Job: “I cry to you, and you do not answer me” parallels Lamentations’ complaint that cries for help are met with a shut prayer.
- Habakkuk 1:2 (verbal): Habakkuk’s complaint “How long, O LORD, must I cry for help, and you will not listen?” closely parallels the motif of crying out yet not being heard.
- Psalm 22:2 (thematic): David’s lament that God seems far and does not help or hear his groaning resonates with Lamentations’ theme of urgent cries for help that go unanswered.
Alternative generated candidates
- When I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
- Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
Lam.3.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גדר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דרכי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- בגזית: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נתיבתי: NOUN,m,sg,poss1
- עוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 16:8 (verbal): Job 16:8 uses nearly identical imagery—“He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass” (fenced/hedged in) and “set darkness in my paths,” closely matching Lamentations’ language of a blocked/hedged way.
- Psalm 139:5 (verbal): Psalm 139:5: “You hem me in, behind and before” shares the same ‘hemming in/hedging’ verbal motif; both texts depict being enclosed by Divine agency (though Lamentations emphasizes it as affliction).
- Isaiah 59:8 (verbal): Isaiah 59:8 speaks of crooked roads/paths (“their roads are crooked”), echoing Lamentations’ phrase about made or turned paths being crooked—shared vocabulary and the image of twisted ways.
- Psalm 18:4–5 (thematic): Psalm 18:4–5 describes being encompassed by cords of death and floods—thematic parallel of being hemmed in or beset with no escape, comparable to Lamentations’ motif of obstructed paths.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has blocked my ways with hewn stones; he has made my paths crooked.
- He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; he has made my paths crooked.
Lam.3.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ארב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ארי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במסתרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 10:9 (verbal): Both verses portray a lion lying in ambush to seize the vulnerable; LXX/Hebrew wording echoes the image of a lion in a secret lair.
- Jeremiah 12:8 (thematic): Jeremiah speaks of his heritage as 'a lion in the forest' that cries out against him — similar imagery of being preyed upon by a lion.
- Hosea 13:7-8 (thematic): God is likened to a lion that will tear and then relent; parallels the motif of divine judgment cast in predatory (lion) terms.
- 1 Samuel 17:34-36 (thematic): David recalls lions and bears that lay in wait for his sheep — echoes the pairing of bear/lion and the idea of ambushing predators.
- Psalm 7:2 (verbal): The psalmist pleads to be saved from one who would 'tear' him like a lion — a comparable fear of being attacked by a lionic predator.
Alternative generated candidates
- He is to me a bear lying in wait, a lion in secret places.
- He is to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in secret.
Lam.3.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דרכי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- סורר: ADJ,m,sg
- ויפשחני: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- שמני: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg,obj:1s
- שמם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Job 16:13-14 (verbal): Job speaks of being broken, crushed, and overwhelmed by God’s assault (“he breaks me with breach upon breach”), echoing the image of being torn/pulled in pieces (יפשחני).
- Psalm 119:67 (thematic): “Before I was afflicted I went astray” links the idea of wandering/turning aside (דרכי סורר) with subsequent affliction that leads to penitence—connection of waywardness and divine discipline.
- Psalm 38:6-8 (thematic): The psalmist describes being bowed down, brought very low, and continually mournful because of suffering—paralleling the desolation and crushing portrayed in Lamentations 3:11.
- Psalm 88:3-5 (thematic): A deep lament portraying life full of trouble and closeness to death, reflecting the same mood of abandonment and desolation present in Lamentations 3:11.
- Lamentations 3:7 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same poem: verse 7 depicts the Lord blocking the speaker’s ways and surrounding him with bitterness and woe, closely repeating the theme of turned-aside ways and affliction found in 3:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; he has made me desolate.
- He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; he has made me desolate.
Lam.3.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קשתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- ויציבני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כמטרא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחץ: ADV
Parallels
- Psalm 7:12-13 (verbal): Uses the same language of God bending and stringing his bow ready to strike—Lamentations casts the speaker as the object/target of that divine attack.
- Psalm 11:2 (verbal): Imagery of bending the bow to shoot at the upright; parallels the motif of being aimed at by a drawn bow (though there the agents are wicked people rather than God).
- Psalm 38:2 (verbal): The psalmist describes suffering as God's arrows sinking into him—personal affliction presented with the same arrow/weapon imagery as Lamentations 3:12.
- Isaiah 49:2 (thematic): Speaks of being made a 'polished arrow' hidden in God’s quiver—related arrow‑and‑instrument imagery that frames a person as object or instrument within God’s purposeful action.
Alternative generated candidates
- He bent his bow and set me as a target for the arrow.
- He bent his bow and set me as a target for the arrow.
Lam.3.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הביא: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- בכליותי: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss,1,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- אשפתו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
Parallels
- Psalm 73:21-22 (verbal): Uses the same idiom of inner organs/kidneys as the seat of feeling (‘my reins were in turmoil’), expressing inward anguish at God’s action—paralleling Lamentations’ language of suffering in the kidneys.
- Psalm 22:14-15 (thematic): Imagery of the inner body dissolving and intense physical/spiritual distress (‘my heart is like wax… my tongue cleaveth to my jaws’), comparable to Lamentations’ vivid portrayal of inward torment from God’s punishment.
- Psalm 38:4-10 (thematic): A penitential lament that links physical suffering and inner anguish to divine judgment; like Lam. 3:13 it frames personal bodily distress as a consequence of God’s dealings.
- Jeremiah 20:14-18 (structural): Jeremiah’s bitter, personal curse of his birth and anguished lament parallels the confessional, autobiographical tone of Lamentations 3; both present intense inward suffering and resentment attributed to God’s hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- He thrust into my inward parts the shafts of his quiver.
- He drove the arrows of his quiver into my kidneys.
Lam.3.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- שחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- נגינתם: NOUN,f,sg,poss
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Psalm 22:6-8 (verbal): Speaker pictured as object of scorn: 'I am a worm... all who see me mock me; they make mouths'—close verbal and thematic echo of being a laughingstock and daily derision.
- Psalm 44:13-14 (verbal): The community (or speaker) is made a byword and laughingstock among peoples—language and circumstance parallel Lamentations' image of mockery before the people.
- Job 17:6 (verbal): Job laments becoming a byword and object of ridicule among people, echoing Lamentations' personal experience of public scorn.
- Psalm 35:15 (thematic): Enemies gloat and mock the sufferer 'at my stumbling they rejoiced'—a thematic parallel of ongoing public derision and humiliation.
- Psalm 69:7-10 (thematic): The psalmist speaks of being reproached, mocked and made a taunt all day; thematically aligns with Lamentations' complaint of constant derision.
Alternative generated candidates
- He made me the scorn of all my people; they laugh at me all the day.
- I have become the laughter of all my people; they mock me all day.
Lam.3.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- השביעני: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- במרורים: PREP,NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הרוני: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- לענה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 9:15 (verbal): Uses the same wormwood/gall imagery: God declares He will 'feed them with wormwood and give them water of gall,' closely echoing Lamentations' language of being filled with bitterness (לענה).
- Deuteronomy 29:18 (verbal): Speaks of 'a root that beareth gall and wormwood' (gall/wormwood imagery), paralleling the motif of bitterness and poisonous sustenance found in Lamentations 3:15.
- Psalm 69:21 (thematic): Describes suffering with bitter substances—'they gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar'—echoing the theme of being given bitter/drinking of bitterness present in Lamentations 3:15.
- Job 7:11 (thematic): Job's expression of personal anguish—'I will complain in the bitterness of my soul'—parallels the intense personal bitterness and plaintive tone of Lamentations 3:15.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has filled me with bitterness; he has made me drink wormwood.
- He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood.
Lam.3.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויגרס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בחצץ: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שני: NUM,m,pl,construct
- הכפישני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- באפר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 30:19 (verbal): Speaks of being cast into the mire and becoming 'like dust and ashes'—same dust/ashes imagery of abasement and degradation found in Lam. 3:16.
- Job 42:6 (verbal): 'I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes'—uses the identical motif of dust/ashes to express humility and suffering.
- Psalm 35:16 (verbal): Enemies 'gnashed upon me with their teeth'—parallels the grinding/gnashing imagery of Lam. 3:16 (he has ground/gritted me), emphasizing violent humiliation.
- Isaiah 50:6 (thematic): Describes physical humiliation (struck, spat upon) and shame—thematic parallel to the degradation and public dishonor conveyed in Lam. 3:16.
- Psalm 22:7 (thematic): Voices of mockery and derision ('all who see me mock me; they make mouths at me') echo Lamentations' theme of suffering and scorn in Lam. 3:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has broken my teeth with gravel; he covered me with ashes.
- He has ground me to gravel and made me to eat ashes.
Lam.3.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותזנח: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- משלום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- נשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- טובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 42:11 (thematic): Both express inward despondency of the soul and loss of hope/peace (’Why are you cast down, O my soul?’ echoes Lamentations’ sense of a soul bereft of peace).
- Psalm 88:14 (thematic): A cry of divine abandonment—’Why do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face?’—parallels Lamentations’ experience of being deprived of peace and favor.
- Psalm 13:1 (verbal): ’How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?’ echoes the motif of divine forgetting found in Lamentations 3:17 ('you have forgotten peace').
- Job 30:27-28 (thematic): Job’s lament over a failing heart and sense of being cast off parallels the despair and loss of inner well-being expressed in Lamentations 3:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten prosperity.
- My soul has been bereft of peace; I have forgotten what good is.
Lam.3.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אבד: VERB,qal,infabs
- נצחי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- ותוחלתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- מיהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 17:15 (verbal): Job asks, “Where then is my hope? as for my hope, who will see it?” — a direct, verbal parallel to Lamentations’ declaration that hope has perished.
- Job 7:6 (verbal): “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope” — echoes the motif of life bereft of hope found in Lamentations 3:18.
- Psalm 77:7-9 (thematic): The psalmist rhetorically asks whether the LORD’s steadfast love and promises have ceased forever, thematically paralleling the sense that hope from the Lord has failed.
- Psalm 42:11 (42:5) (thematic): “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God…” — offers a contrasting but related treatment of despair and the question of hope in God, engaging the same theological theme.
Alternative generated candidates
- So I said, “My strength is perished, and my hope from the LORD.”
- And I said, "My endurance is perished, my hope from the LORD."
Lam.3.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עניי: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss,1,sg
- ומרודי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- לענה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 9:15 (verbal): Uses the same bitter imagery—God will feed the people 'wormwood' and give them 'water of gall'—closely echoing Lamentations' 'wormwood and gall.'
- Deuteronomy 29:18 (verbal): Speaks of a root that bears 'gall and wormwood' (same pair of bitter images, order reversed), linking the language of bitter judgment and ruin.
- Psalm 69:21 (verbal): Describes enemies giving the psalmist 'gall for my food' and 'vinegar to drink,' paralleling Lamentations' use of 'gall' as a symbol of bitter suffering.
- Psalm 39:12 (thematic): The psalmist pleads, 'I am a stranger with thee, a sojourner,' and asks God to remember him—thematically resonant with Lamentations' appeal to 'remember my affliction and my wanderings.'
Alternative generated candidates
- Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
- Remember my affliction and my wandering—the wormwood and the gall.
Lam.3.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכור: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- תזכור: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ותשוח: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 42:6 (verbal): Both speak of the soul being downcast or disquieted within: Lamentations' 'my soul remembers and is bowed down within me' echoes Psalm 42:6's 'Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me?'.
- Psalm 88:14 (verbal): A close emotional parallel—Psalm 88:14 ('Lord, why hast thou cast off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?') matches Lamentations' motif of a troubled, afflicted soul appealing in memory and despair.
- Psalm 77:3–7 (thematic): Psalmist recalls past troubles and remembers God at night, experiencing disturbance of spirit ('I remembered God, and was troubled'); thematically parallels Lamentations' recollection coupled with inward distress.
- Habakkuk 3:2 (verbal): Habakkuk's petition 'in wrath remember mercy' and the prophet's appeal to God to 'remember' resonates with Lamentations' repeated 'remember' (זכור תזכור), linking memory/appeal to God in a time of affliction.
- Psalm 143:4 (thematic): Both describe an inwardly overwhelmed or bowed spirit—Psalm 143:4 ('my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate') parallels Lamentations' depiction of a soul bowed down within.
Alternative generated candidates
- My soul remembers, and is bowed down within me.
- Remember—remember! My soul is bowed down within me.
Lam.3.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- אשיב: VERB,hiphil,impf,1,sg
- אל: NEG
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- אוחיל: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 42:5 (verbal): The psalmist addresses his own soul ('Why so downcast...') and ends with a resolve to hope in God—language and the verb for hoping parallel Lamentations’ 'I will hope.'
- Psalm 43:5 (verbal): Repeats the same formula as Psalm 42:5—self-exhortation to hope and trust in God despite distress, closely echoing Lamentations 3:21’s inward resolve.
- Psalm 71:14 (verbal): Contains a determined declaration of ongoing hope ('But I will hope continually'), echoing the steadfast, personal resolution found in Lamentations 3:21.
- Psalm 119:81 (verbal): Expresses personal fainting followed by reliance on hope in God's word—parallels the movement from remembering or lament to a sustaining hope in Lamentations 3:21.
- Habakkuk 3:18 (thematic): Although different vocabulary, Habakkuk’s resolve to rejoice/ trust in God despite calamity parallels Lamentations’ turn from despair to a determined hope in God.
Alternative generated candidates
- This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
- But this I will call to mind, therefore I will hope.
Lam.3.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חסדי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- תמנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- כלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- רחמיו: NOUN,m,pl,suff3ms
Parallels
- Psalm 136:1 (verbal): Refrains repeatedly with the formula 'for his steadfast love/enduring kindness endures forever,' echoing Lamentations' affirmation that the LORD's steadfast love never ceases.
- Psalm 103:17 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD's steadfast love as enduring from everlasting to everlasting for God's people—same theme of unfailing divine mercy and covenantal lovingkindness.
- Isaiah 54:10 (allusion): Promises that God's steadfast love will not depart and his covenantal compassion will remain despite calamity—parallels Lamentations' assertion that God's mercies do not fail.
- Hebrews 13:5 (thematic): God's commitment 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' conveys the same assurance of God's unfailing presence and mercy found in Lamentations 3:22.
- Romans 8:38-39 (thematic): Paul's declaration that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ echoes the Lamentations motif that God's lovingkindness and mercies persist and are not exhausted.
Alternative generated candidates
- The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies are not exhausted.
- The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his compassions never fail.
Lam.3.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חדשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לבקרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רבה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אמונתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Lam.3.22 (verbal): Immediate context: verse 22 states God’s steadfast love and mercies never cease, directly linked to verse 23’s declaration that his mercies are new every morning.
- Lam.3.24 (structural): Continues the same stanza: after affirming renewed mercies, verse 24 expresses personal trust in the LORD as portion and grounds for hope—literary continuation of the theme of renewal.
- Ps.90:14 (thematic): Prayer for God’s steadfast love in the morning — connects the motifs of morning renewal and divine faithful love found in Lamentations 3:23.
- Ps.30:5 (thematic): “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” — echoes the theme of morning as the time of God’s restoration and renewal.
- Deut.7:9 (thematic): Affirms God’s faithfulness and covenant-keeping character; parallels Lamentations’ emphasis on the LORD’s enduring faithfulness (אמונתך).
Alternative generated candidates
- They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
- They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lam.3.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חלקי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אמרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- אוחיל: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 16:5 (verbal): Uses the same metaphor of God as one's 'portion'/'share' (inheritance), linking God as personal possession and safeguard.
- Psalm 119:57 (verbal): Explicitly states 'The LORD is my portion,' paralleling the exact confession of Lamentations and framing devotion/trust in God.
- Psalm 73:26 (verbal): Declares God as one's 'portion' and strength amid bodily failure—echoing the motif of finding hope in God despite suffering.
- Psalm 42:11 (and Psalm 43:5) (thematic): The psalmist's self-address ('Why are you cast down, O my soul?') and injunction to 'hope in God' mirrors Lamentations' soul-speaking affirmation and resolve to hope.
- Jeremiah 17:7 (thematic): Promises blessing for trusting in the LORD; thematically parallels Lamentations' decision to place hope and trust in God as one's portion.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in him.
- The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in him.
Lam.3.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לקוו: VERB,qal,inf
- לנפש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תדרשנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 27:14 (thematic): Both exhort patient waiting on the LORD; Lamentations affirms God is good to those who wait, echoing Psalm’s call to 'wait for the LORD.'
- Isaiah 30:18 (thematic): Isaiah portrays the LORD as one who 'waits to be gracious,' linking divine goodness with God’s readiness to show mercy to those who wait—close theme to Lam. 3:25.
- Psalm 34:8 (verbal): 'Taste and see that the LORD is good' parallels the explicit assertion of God's goodness in Lam. 3:25 and connects blessing with trusting/seeking God.
- Jeremiah 29:13 (verbal): Jeremiah’s promise that those who seek the LORD will find him parallels Lamentations' address to the soul that seeks God, stressing seeking as the route to encounter God.
- Deuteronomy 4:29 (allusion): The covenantal promise that if Israel seeks the LORD with all their heart they will find him echoes Lam. 3:25’s link between seeking and finding God's favor and goodness.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
- Good is the LORD to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
Lam.3.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ויחיל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ודומם: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לתשועת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 62:1,5 (verbal): Both verses use quiet/being still (Heb. דומם) and explicitly link waiting in silence to God as the source of salvation: 'My soul waits in silence for God; from him comes my salvation.'
- Psalm 130:5 (verbal): Expresses the same posture of waiting and hoping in the LORD: 'I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope,' paralleling hope and silent waiting for God's salvation.
- Psalm 27:14 (thematic): Calls for patient waiting on the LORD ('Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage'), echoing Lamentations' exhortation that it is good to wait for the LORD's salvation.
- Isaiah 30:18 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD's character toward those who wait—He waits to be gracious and is a giver of salvation—resonating with the theme that waiting for the LORD brings deliverance.
- Habakkuk 2:3 (thematic): Urges patience for the fulfillment of God's promised salvation ('If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come'), reflecting the same confident waiting in Lamentations 3:26.
Alternative generated candidates
- It is good that one should quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
- It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Lam.3.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לגבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ישא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- בנעוריו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:11-12 (verbal): Speaks of the value of divine discipline — 'do not despise the LORD’s discipline' — paralleling Lamentations’ claim that bearing a yoke (discipline) in youth is good.
- Hebrews 12:5-11 (quotation): Applies the theme of filial chastening to believers (quotes Proverbs 3:11–12); frames suffering/discipline as beneficial training from a father, echoing Lam.3:27's positive view of youthful yoke-bearing.
- Proverbs 13:24 (thematic): ‘Whoever spares the rod hates his son’ — emphasizes parental discipline in youth as necessary and ultimately good, resonating with the exhortation to accept the yoke in youth.
- Proverbs 22:6 (thematic): ‘Train up a child in the way he should go’ — highlights early instruction/training that shapes later life, thematically linked to bearing discipline in youth for future benefit.
- Psalm 119:71 (verbal): ‘It is good for me that I was afflicted’ — expresses the same theological insight that suffering or discipline produces good results (learning, formation), echoing Lam.3:27’s valuation of youthful yoke-bearing.
Alternative generated candidates
- It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.
- It is good for a person to bear the yoke in youth.
Lam.3.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וידם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- נטל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 39:9 (verbal): “I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it” — closely parallels the idea of keeping silent because God has imposed the suffering.
- Psalm 37:7 (thematic): “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” — a general instruction to sit quietly/keep silence before the LORD, echoing Lamentations’ counsel to sit silent under God’s judgment.
- Lamentations 3:26 (structural): “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” — within the same poem, reinforces the theme of quiet waiting and submission to God found in 3:28.
- Isaiah 30:15 (thematic): “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength” — associates quietness/quiet trust with appropriate posture before God in times of crisis or discipline.
- Job 2:13 (thematic): “They sat with him on the ground...and none spoke a word to him” — the image of sitting in silence amid suffering parallels the Lamentations scene of solitary, silent submission to affliction.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it on him.
- Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it on him.
Lam.3.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- בעפר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פיהו: NOUN,m,sg,pr3ms
- אולי: ADV
- יש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- תקוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 2:8, 2:13 (verbal): Job sits among ashes and endures suffering in silence—an image of humiliation and quiet submission like putting the mouth to the dust.
- Job 42:6 (verbal): Job's confession 'I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes' echoes the motif of dust as self-abasement and turning toward hope/repentance.
- Psalm 119:25 (verbal): 'My soul clings to the dust; revive me' links the dust-imagery with the plea for revival or hope, paralleling 'perhaps there is hope' in Lamentations.
- Isaiah 53:7 (thematic): The Suffering Servant who is oppressed and opens not his mouth parallels the theme of silent endurance and submissive suffering in Lamentations 3:28–29.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let him put his mouth in the dust—perhaps there is hope.
- Let him put his mouth in the dust—perhaps there is hope.
Lam.3.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- למכהו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- לחי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישבע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בחרפה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 50:6 (verbal): The Servant says, 'I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair,' closely echoing the image of offering the cheek to the smiter—submission to abuse.
- Matthew 5:39 (verbal): Jesus' instruction to 'turn the other cheek' resonates with the Lamentations motif of accepting an insult rather than retaliating.
- 1 Peter 2:20-23 (thematic): Exhorts endurance of suffering and refraining from retaliation (citing Christ's example of not reviling when insulted), paralleling the counsel to accept reproach.
- Hebrews 12:11 (thematic): Speaks of accepting painful discipline as beneficial; parallels Lamentations' link between suffering/reproach and hopeful outcome or instruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him; let him be filled with disgrace.
- Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him; let him be filled with reproach.
Lam.3.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יזנח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 31:6 (verbal): God’s assurance not to abandon his people—“He will not fail you or forsake you”—parallels Lamentations’ claim that the Lord will not cast off forever.
- Joshua 1:5 (verbal): God’s promise “I will not leave you or forsake you” echoes the same commitment underlying Lamentations 3:31.
- Hebrews 13:5 (quotation): New Testament citation of the promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” echoing the OT assurance of God’s enduring presence found in Lamentations.
- Psalm 94:14 (verbal): “For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance” uses language very close to Lamentations 3:31, affirming God’s refusal to abandon his people.
- Isaiah 54:10 (thematic): Though circumstances change, God’s steadfast compassion and covenantal commitment remain—Isaiah’s assurance that God’s love will not depart resonates thematically with Lamentations’ statement that the Lord will not cast off forever.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the LORD will not cast off forever.
- For the LORD will not cast off forever.
Lam.3.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- הוגה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ורחם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כרב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חסדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 34:6 (verbal): Directly parallels the language and theology: the LORD is compassionate/merciful and abounding in steadfast love (chesed), linking divine compassion to God’s covenantal lovingkindness.
- Psalm 103:8 (verbal): Uses the same characterizations of God—merciful, gracious, abounding in steadfast love—affirming that God’s compassion grounds mercy after judgment or suffering.
- Lamentations 3:22 (structural): Within the same poetic unit, this verse affirms that the LORD’s steadfast love and mercies never cease, providing the basis for the claim that God’s compassion follows affliction.
- Psalm 145:8 (thematic): Echoes the theme of God’s compassion and abundant steadfast love (slow to anger and abounding in chesed), reinforcing the confidence that God’s mercy responds to human distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- For if he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
- For though he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
Lam.3.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- ענה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלבו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss3,m,sg
- ויגה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 34:10 (verbal): Affirms that it is inconceivable for God to act wickedly or afflict unjustly—paralleling Lamentations’ claim that God does not afflict willingly.
- Psalm 103:9 (thematic): Declares that God will not keep his anger forever, implying he does not take pleasure in prolonged affliction of people, echoing Lamentations’ idea that God does not willingly grieve mankind.
- Ezekiel 18:23 (thematic): God says he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires their turning and life—closely related to the assertion that God does not afflict willingly.
- Ezekiel 33:11 (thematic): Repeats the theme that the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked but prefers repentance and life, paralleling Lamentations’ denial that God delights in afflicting people.
- Jonah 4:2 (thematic): Jonah’s description of God as gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love underscores God’s reluctance to punish and resonates with the claim that he does not willingly grieve mankind.
Alternative generated candidates
- For he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.
- For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.
Lam.3.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לדכא: VERB,qal,inf
- תחת: PREP
- רגליו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,suff:3,m
- כל: DET
- אסירי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Romans 16:20 (verbal): Paul echoes the image of God crushing an enemy under the feet of the faithful: 'The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet,' closely matching the LXX/Septuagint sense of crushing underfoot.
- Psalm 110:5-6 (verbal): Describes the divine warrior executing judgment among the nations and subduing leaders across the land—language of crushing/defeating enemies parallels Lamentations' 'crush under his feet.'
- Psalm 2:9 (thematic): Speaks of breaking rulers with a rod of iron and dashing them like a potter's vessel; related royal/meshing imagery of subjugation and violent defeat under divine authority.
- Isaiah 14:25 (thematic): God declares he will 'tread' or 'trample' the oppressor in his land—a similar image of trampling/crushing enemies and removing their power from the earth.
Alternative generated candidates
- He does not crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
- To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,
Lam.3.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- להטות: VERB,hiph,inf
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גבר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- נגד: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- עליון: ADJ,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 16:19 (structural): Direct legal prohibition against perverting justice or showing partiality—parallels the complaint about turning aside a man's right before the Most High.
- Proverbs 17:23 (verbal): Speaks of accepting a bribe to pervert justice ('a wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back to pervert ways of justice'), closely echoing the idea of turning aside a person's right.
- Micah 3:11 (thematic): Denounces leaders who judge for a bribe and pervert justice—themewise similar condemnation of injustice before God.
- Amos 5:12 (thematic): Condemns those who afflict the righteous and pervert justice (taking bribes, pushing aside the needy), echoing Lamentations' focus on injustice in God's sight.
- Psalm 82:2–4 (thematic): Accuses those who 'judge unjustly' and calls for defending the weak and needy—parallels the concern that human rights/justice are being turned aside before the Most High.
Alternative generated candidates
- nor does he turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High.
- to pervert a man's right before the face of the Most High,
Lam.3.36 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לעות: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בריבו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 23:6 (verbal): Explicit legal injunction against perverting the cause of the poor/defenseless — closely echoes Lamentations’ concern with injustice in litigation.
- Deuteronomy 16:18-20 (verbal): Commands appointment of judges and warns not to pervert justice or show partiality; parallels the theme of rightful adjudication opposed by Lamentations.
- Proverbs 17:15 (thematic): Condemns justification of the wicked and condemnation of the righteous — a moral-proverbial counterpart to the lament over perverted legal outcomes.
- Isaiah 1:17 (thematic): Calls Israel to learn to do right, seek justice and defend the oppressed — links the prophetic demand for righteous judgment with the lament’s complaint about perversion of justice.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Accuses Israel of turning justice into 'wormwood' (bitter injustice); closely related prophetic critique of corrupted legal and social order found in Lamentations.
Alternative generated candidates
- Who is this that says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it?
- does the LORD not see, or the Most High not regard, when a man contends with his neighbor?
Lam.3.37 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 16:33 (thematic): Asserts that chance outcomes (the casting of lots) are ultimately disposed by the LORD—paralleling Lamentations’ claim that events do not occur apart from God’s command.
- Proverbs 19:21 (thematic): Affirms that human plans are subordinate to the counsel of the LORD, echoing the rhetorical point that nothing takes place unless the LORD has ordained it.
- Isaiah 46:10 (thematic): Speaks of God declaring the end from the beginning and that His counsel shall stand—a broader statement of divine sovereignty closely related to the verse’s claim about events occurring only by God’s command.
- Psalm 135:6 (verbal): States that God does whatever pleases Him in heaven and earth; a concise, verbal expression of the same theological conviction about God’s control over events.
- Matthew 10:29 (thematic): Jesus’ remark that not a sparrow falls apart from the Father’s will is a New Testament parallel emphasizing that even small occurrences happen only by God’s will, reflecting the same concern as Lamentations 3:37.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good proceed?
- Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the LORD had commanded it?
Lam.3.38 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מפי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עליון: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תצא: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- הרעות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- והטוב: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 45:7 (verbal): God explicitly claims responsibility for both light/peace and darkness/evil (Heb. 'I make peace and create evil'), echoing Lamentations’ claim that both calamity and good proceed from the Most High.
- Job 2:10 (verbal): Rhetorical moral parallel—Job asks, 'Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' The rhetorical pairing of 'good' and 'evil' from God closely mirrors Lamentations 3:38.
- Job 1:21 (thematic): Job’s confession ('The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away') reflects the theme that both blessing and calamity originate with God, as in Lamentations.
- Amos 3:6 (thematic): Rhetorical question about calamity in a city—'Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?'—parallels Lamentations’ assertion that disaster as well as good comes from the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (thematic): God’s declaration 'I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal' portrays divine sovereignty over life and death/blessing and harm, thematically consonant with Lamentations’ claim about good and evil proceeding from the Most High.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why should a living mortal complain, a man, because of his sins?
- From the mouth of the Most High come forth both disaster and good.
Lam.3.39 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- יתאונן: VERB,hit,impf,3,m,sg
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
- גבר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- על: PREP
- חטאיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:11-12 (quotation): Admonishes not to despise the LORD's discipline—explicitly links divine reproof with loving correction, paralleling the rebuke of complaining about punishment for sin.
- Hebrews 12:5-11 (allusion): Cites Proverbs' warning about God's discipline and urges endurance, treating hardship as fatherly chastening rather than grounds for complaint—echoes Lamentations' theme.
- Psalm 119:71 (thematic): Declares that affliction is good because it leads to learning God's statutes, reflecting the idea that suffering for sin should not provoke complaint.
- Isaiah 45:9 (thematic): Warns against contending with the one who formed you—thematically related to the impropriety of complaining against God's corrective actions.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let us search and examine our ways, and return to the LORD.
- Why should a living man complain—a man about his sins?
Lam.3.40 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נחפשה: VERB,niphal,cohort,1,common,pl
- דרכינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונחקרה: VERB,niphal,cohort,1,common,pl
- ונשובה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,_,pl
- עד: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 30:2-3 (thematic): Calls for the people to return to the LORD after searching/repentance and promises restoration—similar theme of self-examination followed by turning back to God.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (thematic): God’s instruction that the people humbly seek and turn from their wicked ways so God will heal them parallels the Lamenters’ call to examine ways and return to the LORD.
- Joel 2:12-13 (quotation): A prophetic summons to ‘return to the LORD’ with contrition (‘turn to me with all your heart’) echoes the exhortation in Lamentations to examine one’s ways and return to God.
- Hosea 14:1-2 (allusion): Explicit command ‘Return, O Israel, to the LORD’ and instruction to take words of repentance parallels the Lamentations appeal to self-examination and conversion.
- Psalm 119:59 (verbal): ‘I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies’ uses similar language of examining one’s ways and turning to God’s statutes, echoing the Lamentations formula of self-examination and return.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens.
- Let us search and examine our ways, and return to the LORD.
Lam.3.41 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נשא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבבנו: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- אל: NEG
- כפים: NOUN,f,du,abs
- אל: NEG
- אל: NEG
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 134:2 (verbal): Explicitly commands lifting up hands in the sanctuary—same bodily gesture of raised hands in prayer as in Lamentations 3:41.
- Psalm 141:2 (verbal): Prayer imagery links prayer to the ‘lifting up of my hands’ (cf. Lamentations’ lifting heart and hands to God), equating raised hands with prayer/offering.
- Psalm 63:4 (thematic): The psalmist vows to bless God and lift up hands in devotion—parallel theme of turning heart and hands upward toward God in worship.
- 1 Timothy 2:8 (thematic): Paul’s injunction that men pray ‘lifting up holy hands’ echoes the posture of prayer in Lamentations, showing continuity in early Jewish–Christian prayer practice.
Alternative generated candidates
- We have transgressed and rebelled; you have not forgiven.
- Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in heaven.
Lam.3.42 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נחנו: PRON,1,pl
- פשענו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+1pl
- ומרינו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+1pl
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- סלחת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Daniel 9:5 (verbal): Daniel's corporate confession—"we have sinned and done wrong"—uses the same language of communal sin and appeals to God after rebellion, paralleling Lamentations' admission that the people have sinned.
- Nehemiah 1:6 (verbal): Nehemiah's prayer confesses Israel's great wickedness and disobedience—"we have acted very wickedly"—mirroring the admission of sin and need for God's mercy in Lam. 3:42.
- Psalm 106:6 (verbal): "We have sinned, we have done wickedly" is an explicit communal confession in Psalm 106 that echoes the same formula of guilt and recognition of corporate sin found in Lamentations 3:42.
- Isaiah 64:5-7 (thematic): Isaiah's lament stresses universal uncleanness, futile righteousness, and God's hiddenness in face of sin—thematically similar to Lam. 3:42's confession of sin and implication of unpardoned status.
- Lamentations 5:7 (structural): An intra-book parallel: Lamentations 5:7 likewise confesses ancestral sin and present suffering—reinforcing the book's recurring theme that sin and its consequences (including perceived lack of forgiveness) underlie Jerusalem's plight.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have covered yourself with wrath and pursued us; you have slain without pity.
- We have transgressed and rebelled; you have not forgiven.
Lam.3.43 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סכתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- באף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותרדפנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הרגת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- חמלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 63:9-10 (thematic): Speaks of God’s presence in their affliction but also of Israel’s rebellion leading God to turn against them — parallel theme of divine anger, pursuit, and withdrawal of compassion.
- Deuteronomy 32:22 (verbal): Describes God’s anger as a consuming fire that brings death and disaster — similar imagery of God’s wrath pursuing and killing without pity.
- Nahum 1:2-3 (thematic): Emphasizes the Lord as an avenging, wrathful God who pours out anger on his enemies — echoes the portrayal of relentless divine pursuit and judgment.
- Ezekiel 7:8-9 (verbal): Announces imminent outpouring of God’s wrath and that strangers will desecrate the land — closely parallels the proclamation of God’s fierce anger and its deadly effects.
- Psalm 78:49 (verbal): Speaks of God unleashing his burning anger and sending calamity to slay the people — a direct verbal parallel to being covered with anger and slain without mercy.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have covered yourself with a cloud so that prayer cannot pass through.
- You have wrapped yourself in anger and pursued us; you have slain and shown no mercy.
Lam.3.44 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סכותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בענן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מעבור: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- תפלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 13:1 (thematic): Both lament God’s hidden face and apparent absence: “How long, O LORD? will you forget me…? How long will you hide your face from me?”—echoing frustration that prayer seems not to reach God.
- Isaiah 59:2 (thematic): Explicitly links sin and separation from God: ‘your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you,’ paralleling the idea that God’s hiddenness prevents prayers.
- Job 22:13 (verbal): Uses cloud imagery of divine hiddenness—‘thick clouds are a covering to him, that he sees not’—similar to Lamentations’ image of God covering himself with a cloud so prayer cannot pass.
- Exodus 40:34-35 (structural): Describes the cloud covering the tent of meeting and the glory of the LORD filling the sanctuary; provides a structural/imagistic parallel (cloud as divine manifestation that can also obscure access to God).
- Psalm 22:2 (thematic): An anguished complaint that God does not answer: ‘O my God, I cry by day, and you do not answer,’ resonating with Lamentations’ sense that prayer fails to reach God.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have made us an object of scorn and refuse among the nations.
- You have wrapped yourself in a cloud so that prayer cannot pass through.
Lam.3.45 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סחי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומאוס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תשימנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בקרב: PREP
- העמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:37 (structural): Uses the same curse-formula — Israel will “become a proverb and a byword among all the peoples,” directly paralleling the Lament’s language of being a byword among the nations.
- Psalm 79:4 (verbal): Lament-like complaint: “We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those around us,” closely echoing the sense and wording of being scorned by surrounding peoples.
- Psalm 44:13 (verbal): Speaks of being a taunt and byword among neighbors and nations; shares the verbal/theme of communal shame and derision before other peoples.
- Ezekiel 36:20-21 (thematic): Describes exiles profaning God’s name so that the nations mock them — the theme of Israel’s exile producing scorn and derision among the nations parallels Lamentations’ complaint.
- Jeremiah 24:9 (thematic): God threatens to make the people “a horror, a hissing, and a byword among all the nations,” using similar imagery of being a derision and object of scorn.
Alternative generated candidates
- All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
- You have made us a byword among the nations, a taunt and a mockery among the peoples.
Lam.3.46 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עלינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- פיהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- איבינו: NOUN,m,pl,def+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 35:21 (verbal): Uses the same image of enemies opening their mouths against the speaker ('They opened their mouths against me'), a close verbal parallel in a laments/plea context.
- Job 16:10 (verbal): Job describes his foes gaping/opening their mouths at him ('They have gaped upon me with their mouth'), echoing the hostile mouth-imagery of reproach and derision.
- Psalm 22:7-8 (thematic): Speaks of mockery and mouths opened against the sufferer ('All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me'), thematically parallel in its depiction of public derision.
- Jeremiah 20:10-11 (thematic): Jeremiah reports enemies whispering and conspiring against him—a related theme of hostile speech and attacks from surrounding foes.
- Psalm 44:13-14 (thematic): Describes Israel as a reproach and byword among the nations—parallel in portraying enemies' scornful speech and derision against the community.
Alternative generated candidates
- Fear and pit and snare have come upon us; by day and by night devastation.
- All our enemies open their mouths wide against us.
Lam.3.47 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פחד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופחת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- השאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והשבר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Job 3:25 (verbal): ‘For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me’ — direct verbal/semantic parallel: the feared calamity has come upon the speaker, echoing Lamentations’ ‘fear... has come upon us.’
- Psalm 55:5 (verbal): ‘Fear and trembling are come upon me’ (MT/Ps. 55:5) — similar phrasing (fear/trembling) and the experience of overwhelming terror that parallels Lamentations’ language.
- Zephaniah 1:15 (thematic): ‘A day of wrath... a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation’ — prophetic description of sudden terror and destruction thematically close to Lamentations’ ‘fear…and ruin.’
- Isaiah 24:19-20 (structural): ‘The earth is utterly broken... the earth shall reel to and fro’ — cosmic language of shaking, breaking and desolation parallels the widespread ruin and dread expressed in Lamentations 3:47.
Alternative generated candidates
- My eyes flow with rivers of tears for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- Terror and dread have befallen us; ruin and desolation.
Lam.3.48 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פלגי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תרד: VERB,qal,juss,2,m,sg
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- על: PREP
- שבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
Parallels
- Jeremiah 9:1 (verbal): Closely parallels the imagery of abundant tears for 'the daughter of my people' ('Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears... for the slain of the daughter of my people').
- Lamentations 2:11 (verbal): Same book and context: expresses overflowing tears and poured-out heart 'because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,' echoing Lamentations 3:48.
- Lamentations 1:16 (thematic): Earlier lament in the same collection: the speaker's eyes pour out tears over the calamity that has befallen the people—same motif of weeping for Jerusalem.
- Psalm 137:1 (thematic): Evokes mourning for Zion by water imagery ('By the rivers of Babylon... there we wept when we remembered Zion'), thematically similar to tears flowing for the people.
- Psalm 42:3 (thematic): Speaks of continual weeping ('My tears have been my food day and night'), resonating with the persistent streams of tears in Lamentations 3:48.
Alternative generated candidates
- My eyes run down and do not cease, without pause,
- My eyes flow with streams of water because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Lam.3.49 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- נגרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תדמה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- מאין: ADV,interrog
- הפגות: NOUN,f,pl,def
Parallels
- Jeremiah 9:1 (verbal): Jeremiah (author of Lamentations) uses very similar imagery — 'Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears' — expressing continuous weeping for the slain of the people, closely echoing Lamentations' unceasing tears.
- Lamentations 2:11 (structural): Within the same book the speaker laments failing eyes and overflowing tears ('Mine eyes do fail with tears'), a direct thematic and emotional parallel that develops the motif of persistent weeping.
- Psalm 42:3 (thematic): The psalmist says 'My tears have been my food day and night,' portraying sustained, day‑and‑night weeping like the unremitting flow of tears in Lamentations 3:49.
- Psalm 6:6-7 (thematic): These verses describe lying in bed drenched with tears and groaning night after night, echoing the image of ceaseless tears and ongoing sorrow found in Lamentations 3:49.
- Psalm 56:8 (thematic): The synoptic image of God collecting or recording tears ('put thou my tears into thy bottle') relates to the motif of abundant, notable tears in Lamentations and the consciousness that God sees and numbers them.
Alternative generated candidates
- until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
- My eye pours out and will not cease, without respite,
Lam.3.50 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- ישקיף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- משמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 33:13 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel: 'The LORD looks from heaven; he sees all the children of man,' closely echoing 'until he looks and sees from heaven.'
- Psalm 14:2 (verbal): Echoes the same motif—'The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand'—paralleling the image of God looking from heaven.
- Psalm 11:4 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD's throne in heaven and that 'his eyes see'—a closely related expression of divine observation from heaven.
- Proverbs 15:3 (thematic): Declares that 'the eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch'—thematic parallel emphasizing God's ever‑watchful gaze over humanity.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (thematic): Portrays the LORD's eyes as 'running to and fro throughout the whole earth' to act—similar imagery of God surveying the world from above.
Alternative generated candidates
- My eyes waste away from grief; they grow old because of all the daughters of my city.
- until the LORD looks down and sees from heaven.
Lam.3.51 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- עוללה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לנפשי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg+PRON,1,sg
- מכל: PREP
- בנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עירי: NOUN,f,sg,suff,1,sg
Parallels
- Lam.3.48 (structural): Immediate continuation in the same poem: the speaker’s eyes flow with rivers of tears over the destruction of the daughter of his people, expanding the same lament and cause for grief.
- Lam.1.16 (verbal): Uses similar wording of eyes running with tears and expresses personal weeping over the city’s suffering—shared imagery and lamentation over Jerusalem.
- Jer.9.1 (thematic): Jeremiah longs that his eyes might be a fountain of tears to mourn day and night—same prophetic motif of abundant weeping for the people’s calamity.
- Ps.6.7 (verbal): ‘My eye wastes away because of affliction’ echoes the physical wasting and tearful distress described in Lamentations 3:51—parallel language for grief’s bodily effect.
Alternative generated candidates
- My enemies chased me as a bird without cause.
- My eye has spent itself with weeping for the daughters of my city.
Lam.3.52 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צוד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- צדוני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl+1cs
- כצפור: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- איבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss=1s
- חנם: ADV
Parallels
- Psalm 35:19 (verbal): Shares the language of unjust hatred ('hate me without a cause' / 'איבי חנם'); both portray enemies who persecute the speaker without reason.
- Psalm 69:4 (verbal): Complains that people 'hate me without a cause' and recounts hostile persecution—verbal and thematic overlap with Lamentations' charge of groundless enmity.
- John 15:25 (quotation): Jesus cites the OT motif 'they hated me without a cause' to explain hostile, baseless hatred; a direct New Testament citation/allusion to the prophetic lament tradition.
- Psalm 102:6 (thematic): Employs bird imagery for desolation ('I am like a pelican of the wilderness'), echoing Lamentations' image of being hunted like a bird to convey vulnerability and exile.
Alternative generated candidates
- They dug a pit for my life and cast stones upon me.
- They pursued me without cause—my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Lam.3.53 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צמתו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בבור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חיי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- וידו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבן: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 37:12 (verbal): Uses the same image of the wicked gnashing with their teeth against the righteous—parallel language for hostile enemies.
- Psalm 7:15 (thematic): Speaks of digging a pit for another (and falling into it), echoing Lamentations’ motif of enemies digging a pit for the speaker’s life.
- Genesis 37:24 (thematic): Joseph is thrown into a pit by his brothers—an ancient narrative parallel for betrayal and enemy entrapment using the pit image.
- Proverbs 26:27 (allusion): Speaks of one who digs a pit falling into it; relates to the motif of pits as means of malicious intent and divine/poetic reversal.
Alternative generated candidates
- Waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off.”
- They dug a pit for my life and cast a stone upon me.
Lam.3.54 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צפו: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- נגזרתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,sg
Parallels
- Jonah 2:3-5 (verbal): Jonah uses the same imagery of waters/floods going over his head and surrounding him (’the floods compassed me about… the weeds were wrapped about my head’), closely paralleling Lamentations’ ‘waters over my head.’
- Psalm 42:7 (verbal): Speaks of ‘deep calling to deep’ and ‘all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me,’ employing the same overflowing/wave imagery of being overwhelmed by waters.
- Psalm 69:1-2 (thematic): Describes being overwhelmed by deep waters and floods that overflow the speaker (‘I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me’), thematically paralleling the sense of drowning/despair in Lamentations.
- Psalm 18:4 (Heb. 18:5) (thematic): Uses flood imagery to describe being encompassed by danger (‘the floods of ungodly men made me afraid’), echoing the motif of being surrounded and overwhelmed by waters in Lam. 3:54.
Alternative generated candidates
- I called upon your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit.
- Waters flowed over my head; I said, "I am cut off."
Lam.3.55 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- שמך: NOUN,m,sg,cs,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מבור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחתיות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jonah 2:2 (verbal): Jonah pleads ‘I cried out of my distress/to the Lord’ — uses language of calling God from the depths (ממצולותי), echoing ‘from the low pit.’
- Psalm 130:1 (verbal): ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD’ (ממעמקים קראתיך יהוה) — closely parallels the imagery and the act of calling God from the depths.
- Psalm 116:4 (verbal): ‘Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I beg you, save my life.”’ — shares the formula ‘I called [on] the name of the LORD’ (קראתי שמך יהוה).
- Psalm 18:6 (or 22:2 LXX numbering) (thematic): ‘In my distress I called upon the LORD…he heard my voice out of his temple’ — thematically parallels crying to God in dire peril and expecting divine response.
Alternative generated candidates
- You heard my voice; do not hide your ear from my sighing and my cry.
- I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit.
Lam.3.56 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קולי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תעלם: VERB,qal,juss,2,m,sg
- אזנך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- לרוחתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,1,abs
- לשועתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,1,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 18:6 (verbal): ‘In my distress I called upon the LORD... he heard my voice’ — directly parallels the petition that God has heard the speaker’s voice and be not deaf to his cry.
- Psalm 116:1-2 (verbal): ‘I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice... because he inclined his ear to me’ — echoes the language of God hearing the voice and inclining an ear to the petitioner.
- Jonah 2:2 (verbal): ‘I called out to the LORD, out of my distress... and you heard my voice’ — a close verbal parallel of crying out in distress and God hearing that cry.
- Psalm 130:1-2 (thematic): ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice!’ — thematically similar plea for God to listen and not hide his ear to the supplicant’s cry.
Alternative generated candidates
- You drew near when I called you; you said, “Fear not.”
- You heard my voice; do not hide your ear from my cry.
Lam.3.57 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קרבת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ביום: PREP
- אקראך: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- אמרת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תירא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 145:18 (verbal): “The LORD is near to all who call on him” closely parallels Lamentations’ claim that God drew near when the speaker called.
- Psalm 118:5 (verbal): “I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me” echoes the motif of calling to God and receiving a response.
- Isaiah 41:10 (verbal): God’s command “Fear not, for I am with you” parallels the admonition “do not fear” combined with divine presence in Lam. 3:57.
- Isaiah 43:2 (thematic): Assurance of God’s presence in danger (“when you pass through the waters… I will be with you”) and the implied prohibition of fear resonate with Lam. 3:57.
- Deuteronomy 31:6 (allusion): The injunction “Be strong and courageous… do not fear or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you” provides a canonical background for Lamentations’ appeal to God’s nearness and the command not to fear.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have pleaded my cause, O LORD; you have redeemed my life.
- You drew near when I called on you; you said, "Do not fear."
Lam.3.58 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רבת: ADV
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- ריבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,1,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- גאלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- חיי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
Parallels
- Psalm 103:4 (verbal): Speaks of God who 'redeemeth thy life from destruction'—close verbal and thematic parallel to Lamentations' language of God redeeming the speaker's life.
- Psalm 34:22 (verbal): Declares 'The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants,' echoing the idea that God vindicates/pleads the cause of and rescues the speaker's life/soul.
- Psalm 119:154 (verbal): Uses legal/forensic language—'plead my cause, and deliver me'—paralleling Lamentations' 'you have pleaded the causes of my soul' and request for deliverance.
- Job 19:25 (thematic): Proclaims 'my Redeemer lives,' reflecting the personal-redeemer motif: God as vindicator and restorer of the individual's life, akin to Lamentations' appeal.
- Isaiah 63:16 (thematic): Refers to the LORD as 'our redeemer' who saves and cares for his people—thematically related to the depiction of God pleading for and redeeming the speaker's life.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have seen, O LORD, my wrong; judge my cause.
- You have pleaded my cause, O LORD; you have redeemed my life.
Lam.3.59 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ראיתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עותתי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- שפטה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- משפטי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 26:1 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel — a personal plea 'שפטני יְהוָה' (Judge me, O Lord), echoing Lamentations' petition for God to see wrongs and judge the cause.
- Psalm 43:1 (thematic): Thematic parallel — a cry for vindication and for God to judge the speaker's cause against unjust opponents (’Vindicate me, O God; plead my cause’).
- Psalm 35:24 (verbal): Close verbal/thematic connection — Psalmist entreats the LORD to judge and vindicate his cause, using the language of judicial appeal found in Lamentations 3:59.
- Genesis 18:25 (structural): Structural/theological parallel — rhetorical affirmation of God as the righteous Judge ('Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?'), framing the expectation that God will see and execute justice as in Lamentations' plea.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have seen all their vengeance, all their thoughts against me.
- You have seen my wrong—judge my case.
Lam.3.60 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ראיתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- נקמתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3mp
- כל: DET
- מחשבתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 139:2 (verbal): Speaks of God's knowledge of human movements and thoughts—'you know my lying down and my rising up; you understand my thought from afar'—parallels Lamentations’ claim that God has seen all hostile plots and imaginations.
- Psalm 94:11 (verbal): Affirms that 'The LORD knows the thoughts of man,' echoing Lamentations’ emphasis that God perceives the enemies’ counsels and designs against the speaker.
- Job 34:21 (thematic): Declares that God's eyes are on men's ways and he sees all their goings—parallels the idea that God has observed every act of vengeance and every plotted scheme.
- Proverbs 15:3 (thematic): 'The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good'—connects to Lamentations’ assertion that God has witnessed all the enemies’ vengeance and thoughts.
- Jeremiah 17:10 (allusion): God declares 'I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins'—a close theological parallel (and likely Jeremiahic resonance) to the claim that God has seen all imaginations and vengeful plans directed at the speaker.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have heard their taunting, O LORD, all their plots against me.
- You have seen all their vengeance and all their plots against me.
Lam.3.61 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- חרפתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- מחשבתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 20:10-11 (thematic): Jeremiah describes enemies whispering and devising harm against him—closely parallels Lamentations’ plea that the LORD has heard the taunts and plots arrayed against the speaker (shared context of prophetic persecution).
- Psalm 35:11-15 (thematic): This psalm speaks of false witnesses, slander, and taunting by enemies who plot harm—echoing Lamentations’ complaint about derision and schemes directed at the sufferer.
- Psalm 38:11-12 (verbal): Verses depict friends standing aloof and adversaries laying snares and plotting against the psalmist—language and imagery of enemies’ plots and taunts parallels Lamentations 3:61.
- Psalm 22:7-8 (thematic): The psalmist reports being mocked and derided by onlookers; while focused on derision rather than plotting, it parallels Lamentations’ emphasis on taunts and the speaker’s appeal to God about hostile reproach.
Alternative generated candidates
- My lips are full of their scoffing all the day; their tauntings surround me.
- You have heard their taunts, O LORD—all their schemes against me.
Lam.3.62 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שפתי: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- קמי: NOUN,m,sg,suf
- והגיונם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3p
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Psalm 35:21 (verbal): Uses the same formula of enemies 'opening their mouths' against the speaker (and exclaiming 'Aha, aha!'), a near-verbal parallel of hostile speech and mockery.
- Job 16:10 (verbal): Job: 'They open their mouth against me...' — shares the exact verbal motif of adversaries opening their mouths in reproach against the sufferer.
- Psalm 22:7 (thematic): 'All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me' — a closely related theme of public jeering and taunting directed at the afflicted speaker.
- Psalm 109:3 (thematic): 'They compassed me about also with words of hatred...' — depicts enemies surrounding the speaker with hostile speech, paralleling the image of continual reproach 'all day'.
Alternative generated candidates
- Look upon their sitting and rising; I am for their song.
- Their taunts are on my lips, and their whispering against me is all day long.
Lam.3.63 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שבתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- וקימתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- הביטה: VERB,qal,imp,2,ms
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- מנגינתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+prsfx:3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 69:12 (verbal): Speaks of being made the object of a song/taunt — a close verbal parallel to Lamentations’ ‘I am their song.’
- Psalm 35:15 (verbal): Describes enemies gaping, mocking and rejoicing over the sufferer’s plight, echoing the image of onlookers who sit, stand, and watch.
- Psalm 22:7-8 (thematic): Portrays public derision and mockery of the afflicted one (‘all who see me mock me’), matching the theme of being a spectacle in Lamentations.
- Psalm 109:25 (thematic): The sufferer becomes a reproach/byword among people and is scorned when seen—another instance of communal taunting and humiliation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Repay them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
- They sit and watch; they mark my steps—they make my fall their watchword.
Lam.3.64 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תשיב: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- גמול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כמעשה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 28:4 (verbal): Explicitly prays that the LORD repay the wicked according to their works—very close verbal parallel to Lamentations' request for God to requite them as their deeds deserve.
- Jeremiah 17:10 (verbal): God declares he searches hearts and will give to each according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds, echoing the theme of divine retribution according to works.
- Psalm 62:12 (verbal): States that God will repay a person according to his work—another concise expression of the same principle of recompense found in Lamentations 3:64.
- Proverbs 24:12 (thematic): Asks rhetorically whether God will not repay each person according to his deeds, reflecting the proverb-wisdom expectation of moral recompense present in Lamentations.
- Romans 2:6 (thematic): New Testament affirmation that God will repay each person according to what they have done, applying the Old Testament principle of divine retribution to Christian moral teaching.
Alternative generated candidates
- Give them a recompense for their deed; give them a reward that their own counsels deserve.
- Repay them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
Lam.3.65 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- מגנת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תאלתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 7:3 (verbal): God declares he will harden Pharaoh's heart — a direct verbal/thematic parallel to divine action in hardening or changing hearts as judgment.
- Isaiah 6:10 (verbal): God commands the prophet to dull Israel's senses (‘make the heart of this people fat’) — similar language of divinely caused obtuseness of heart and perception.
- Romans 1:24-28 (thematic): Paul describes God ‘giving them up’ to degrading passions and a reprobate mind — a New Testament development of the theme that God judicially hands people over, producing spiritual hardening.
- Romans 9:18 (thematic): ‘God has mercy on whom he wills, and he hardens whom he wills’ — an explicit theological parallel concerning divine hardening as an aspect of God’s sovereign judgment.
- Ezekiel 36:26 (thematic): God promises to ‘give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you’ — a deliberate contrast showing the same divine power can either harden hearts (judgment) or renew them (restoration).
Alternative generated candidates
- Bring upon them a recompense of disgrace, and let them suffer the judgment of your wrath.
- Give them the recompense of shame; may your curse overtake them.
Lam.3.66 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תרדף: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- באף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותשמידם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מתחת: PREP
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 5:10 (verbal): Imprecatory petition asking God to destroy the wicked — similar language of God executing judgment on enemies.
- Psalm 139:19-22 (thematic): The psalmist expresses desire that God would slay or pursue the wicked and declares hatred of those who hate God, echoing Lamentations' call for divine pursuit and destruction.
- Nahum 1:2-3 (thematic): Portrays the LORD as a jealous, avenging God who thunders and takes vengeance — parallels the motif of divine wrath pursuing and destroying foes.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (thematic): 'Vengeance is mine' asserts God’s prerogative to repay evildoers; echoes the theme of God himself pursuing and executing judgment under heaven.
- Psalm 58:6-7 (thematic): An imprecatory passage calling for violent destruction of the wicked (images of breaking teeth, melting away), comparable to Lamentations' plea that the LORD pursue and destroy enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- Pursue them in anger and destroy them under the heavens of the LORD.
- Pursue in wrath and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD.
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath.
He led me and caused me to walk in darkness and not in light.
Indeed he has turned his hand against me again and again all the day.
He has wasted my flesh and my skin; he has broken my bones.
He has besieged me and encircled me; he has made me desolate; he has bent his bow and set me as a mark.
He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago.
He has hedged in my ways so that I cannot pass; he has made my paths crooked.
Though I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; he has made my paths crooked.
A bear lies in wait for me, a lion in hiding.
He turns aside my ways and tears me to pieces; he makes me desolate.
He has bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrows.
He has pierced my inward parts; he has poured out my gall upon the ground.
He has made me an object of scorn to all my people, their song all the day.
He has filled me with bitterness; he has made me drink wormwood.
He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has made me cower in the ashes.
My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I said, 'My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD.'
Remember my affliction and my wandering—the wormwood and the gall.
I will recall and meditate—and my soul is bowed within me.
This I will call to mind, therefore I will hope.
The LORD's steadfast love does not cease; his mercies are not consumed.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in him.
Good is the LORD to the one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should quietly wait for salvation from the LORD.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it upon him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust—perhaps there is still hope.
Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him; let him be filled with reproach.
For the LORD will not cast off forever.
For though he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he does not afflict willingly or grieve the children of men.
To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth?
To pervert a man's cause before the presence of the Most High?
To deliver a man to the will of his adversary? Does not the LORD see?
Who has said that it shall be, if the LORD did not command it?
From the mouth of the Most High do not both calamity and good proceed?
Why should a living man complain, a man, about his sins?
Let us search and examine our ways, and return to the LORD.
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in the heavens.
We have transgressed and rebelled; you have not pardoned.
You have wrapped yourself in wrath and pursued us; you have slain and shown no mercy.
You have wrapped yourself in a cloud so that prayer cannot pass through.
You have made us a taunt and a byword among the nations.
All our enemies open their mouths against us.
Terror and dread have befallen us; ruin and destruction.
My eyes flow with rivers of tears for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
My eyes pour out without ceasing, without respite,
Until the LORD looks down from heaven and beholds.
My eyes stream for the daughters of my city—they look for help, but none is there.
They chased me sore like birds without cause.
They have dug a pit for my life; they have cast stones on me.
Waters flowed over my head; I said, 'I am cut off.'
I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit.
You heard my voice; do not hide your ear from my cry for help.
You drew near when I called you; you said, 'Do not fear.'
You made my case great, O LORD; you redeemed my life.
You have seen, O LORD, my affliction; judge my cause—take up my plea.
You have seen all their vengeance, all their thoughts against me.
You have heard their reproach, O LORD, all their plots against me.
Their tongues are continually against me; their counsels are for my harm all the day.
They watch and lurk; they mark my steps, as those who wait for my fall.
Repay them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands; render to them their due reward.
Give them the recompense of their pride; let your dread fall upon them.
Pursue them in wrath and destroy them under the heavens of the LORD.