Lamentations 3:52–66

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ץ (Tsade)

^3:52For no good reason¹⁰⁹ my enemies

hunted me down¹¹⁰ like a bird.

^3:53They shut me¹¹¹ up in a pit

and threw stones at me.

^3:54The waters closed over my head;

I thought¹¹² I was about to die.¹¹³

ק (Qof)

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

from the deepest pit.¹¹⁴

^3:56You heard¹¹⁵ my plea:¹¹⁶

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”¹¹⁷

^3:57You came near¹¹⁸ on the day I called to you;

you said,¹¹⁹ “Do not fear!”

ר (Resh)

^3:58O Lord,¹²⁰ you championed¹²¹ my cause,¹²²

you redeemed my life.

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

pronounce judgment on my behalf!¹²³

^3:60You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me.¹²⁴

ש (Sin/Shin)

^3:61You have heard¹²⁵ their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

^3:62My assailants revile and conspire¹²⁶

against me all day long.

^3:63Watch them from morning to evening;¹²⁷

I am the object of their mocking songs.

ת (Tav)

^3:64Pay them back¹²⁸ what they deserve,¹²⁹ O Lord,

according to what they¹³⁰ have done.¹³¹

^3:65Give them a distraught heart;¹³²

may your curse be on them!

^3:66Pursue them¹³³ in anger and eradicate them

from under the Lord’s heaven.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

109 Heb “without cause.”
110 The construction צוֹד צָדוּנִי (tsod tsaduni, “they have hunted me down”) is emphatic: Qal infinitive absolute of the same root of Qal perfect 3rd person common plural + 1st person common singular suffix.
111 Heb “my life.”
112 Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”
113 Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).
114 Heb “from a pit of lowest places.”
115 The verb could be understood as a precative, “hear my plea,” parallel to the following volitive verb, “do not close.”
116 Heb “my voice.”
117 The preposition ל (lamed) continues syntactically from “my plea” in the previous line (e.g. Ex 5:2; Josh 22:2; 1 Sam 8:7; 12:1; Jer 43:4).
118 The verb could be understood as a precative (“Draw near”). The perspective of the poem seems to be that of prayer during distress rather than a testimony that God has delivered.
119 The verb could be understood as a precative (“Say”).
120 The reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”) as in the following verse. See the note at 1:14.
121 This verb, like others in this stanza, could be understood as a precative (“Plead”).
122 Heb “the causes of my soul.” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= me).
123 Heb “Please judge my judgment.”
124 The reads לִי (li, “to me”); but many medieval Hebrew and the ancient versions (Aramaic , , Latin ) all reflect a of עָלָי (’alay, “against me”).
125 The verb could be understood as a precative (“Hear”).
126 Heb “the lips of my assailants and their thoughts.”
127 Heb “their rising and their sitting.” The two terms שִׁבְתָּם וְקִימָתָם (shivtam véqimatam, “their sitting and their rising”) form a merism: two terms that are polar opposites are used to encompass everything in between. The idiom “from your rising to your sitting” refers to the earliest action in the morning and the latest action in the evening (e.g., Deut 6:7; Ps 139:3). The enemies mock Jerusalem from the moment they arise in the morning until the moment they sit down in the evening.
128 Heb “Please cause to return.” The imperfect verb תָּשִׁיב (tashiv), Hiphil imperfect 2nd person masculine singular from שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”), functions in a volitional sense, like an imperative of request. The Hiphil stem of שׁוּב (shuv, in the Hiphil “to cause to return”) often means “to make requital, to pay back” (e.g., Judg 9:5, 56; 1 Sam 25:39; 1 Kgs 2:32, 44; Neh 3:36; Prov 24:12, 29; Hos 12:3; Joel 4:4, 7) ( 999 שׁוּב 4.a).
129 Heb “recompense to them.” The noun גְּמוּל (gémul, “dealing, accomplishment”) has two metonymical (cause-effect) meanings: (1) positive “benefit” and (2) negative “retribution, requital, recompense,” the sense used here (e.g., Pss 28:4; 94:2; 137:8; Prov 19:17; Isa 35:4; 59:18; 66:6; Jer 51:6; Lam 3:64; Joel 4:4, 7). The phrase תָּשִׁיב גְּמוּל (tashiv gémul) means “to pay back retribution” (e.g., Joel 4:4, 7), that is, to return the deeds of the wicked upon them as a display of talionic or poetic justice.
130 Heb “their hands.” The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (= hands) for the whole person (= they).
131 Heb “according to the work of their hands.”
132 The noun מְגִנַּה (méginnah) is a . Its meaning is debated; earlier lexicographers suggested that it meant “covering” ( 171 ), but more recent lexicons suggest “shamelessness” or “insanity” ( ). The translation is based on the term being parallel to “curse” and needing to relate to “heart.” Cf. “anguish of heart.”
133 Heb “pursue.” The accusative direct object is implied in the Hebrew, and inserted in the translation.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“I have been hunted like a bird

by those who were my enemies without cause;

they flung me alive into the pit

and cast stones on me;

water closed over my head;

I said, ‘I am lost.’

“I called on your name, O Lord,

from the depths of the pit;

you heard my plea, ‘Do not close

your ear to my cry for help!’

You came near when I called on you;

you said, ‘Do not fear!’

“You have taken up my cause, O Lord;

you have redeemed my life.

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

judge my cause.

You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me.

“You have heard their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

The lips and thoughts of my assailants

are against me all the day long.

Behold their sitting and their rising;

I am the object of their taunts.

“You will repay them, O Lord,

according to the work of their hands.

You will give them dullness of heart;

your curse will be on them.

You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under your heavens, O Lord.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Those who were my enemies without cause

hunted me like a bird.

They tried to end my life in a pit

and threw stones at me;

the waters closed over my head,

and I thought I was about to perish.

I called on your name, Lord,

from the depths of the pit.

You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears

to my cry for relief.”

You came near when I called you,

and you said, “Do not fear.”

You, Lord, took up my case;

you redeemed my life.

Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.

Uphold my cause!

You have seen the depth of their vengeance,

all their plots against me.

Lord, you have heard their insults,

all their plots against me—

what my enemies whisper and mutter

against me all day long.

Look at them! Sitting or standing,

they mock me in their songs.

Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,

for what their hands have done.

Put a veil over their hearts,

and may your curse be on them!

Pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under the heavens of the Lord.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

For no reason, my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

They smothered my life in a pit

and threw stones on me.

Water flooded over my head,

and I thought, “I’m going to die!”

I called on your name, Lord,

from the depths of the pit.

You heard my plea:

Do not ignore my cry for relief.

You came near whenever I called you;

you said, “Do not be afraid.”

You championed my cause, Lord;

you redeemed my life.

Lord, you saw the wrong done to me;

judge my case.

You saw all their vengefulness,

all their plots against me.

Lord, you heard their insults,

all their plots against me.

The slander and murmuring of my opponents

attack me all day long.

When they sit and when they rise, look,

I am mocked by their songs.

You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord,

according to the work of their hands.

You will give them a heart filled with anguish.

May your curse be on them!

You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

under your heavens.

NLTNew Living Translation

My enemies, whom I have never harmed,

hunted me down like a bird.

They threw me into a pit

and dropped stones on me.

The water rose over my head,

and I cried out, “This is the end!”

But I called on your name, Lord,

from deep within the pit.

You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading!

Hear my cry for help!”

Yes, you came when I called;

you told me, “Do not fear.”

Lord, you have come to my defense;

you have redeemed my life.

You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord.

Be my judge, and prove me right.

You have seen the vengeful plots

my enemies have laid against me.

Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me.

You know all about the plans they have made.

My enemies whisper and mutter

as they plot against me all day long.

Look at them! Whether they sit or stand,

I am the object of their mocking songs.

Pay them back, Lord,

for all the evil they have done.

Give them hard and stubborn hearts,

and then let your curse fall on them!

Chase them down in your anger,

destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

My enemies hunt me without cause,

like a bird.

They have silenced me in a pit,

they have thrown a stone at me.

Water has flown over my head,

I said, “I am cut off.”

I have called your name, O Yahweh,

from the depths of the pit.

You have heard my cry, “Do not shut your ear

to my cry for help, for my relief!”

You came near on a day when I called you,

you said, “Do not fear!”

O Lord, you have pleaded for my cause,

you have redeemed my life.

You have seen my injustice, O Yahweh;

judge my case.

You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plans against me.

You have heard their disgrace, O Yahweh,

all their plans against me.

The lips and meditation of my assailants

are against me all day long.

Look at their sitting and their standing,

I am their mocking song.

Return to them what is deserved, O Yahweh,

according to the work of their hands.

Give them a stubborn heart;

curse them!

Pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under the heavens of Yahweh.

KJV 1900King James Version

Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.

Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.

I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.

Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.

O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.

Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me;

The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.

Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.

Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands.

Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord.

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