Lamentations 3:19–26

Context

Lamentations is a collection of five laments (songs of grief) mourning the devastation that followed the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon around 586 BC. Jewish and Christian tradition have regarded the book as the work of Jeremiah, but the text itself does not name its author. Chapter 3 is an alphabetic acrostic of 66 verses in which each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in order, begins three successive verses. The chapter is voiced by a single individual who says, "I am the man that hath seen affliction" (3:1).

In verses 1–18 the speaker laments that God has struck him. In verses 19–20 he remains downcast as he remembers his bitter suffering, "the wormwood and the gall." The poem turns at verse 21, "therefore have I hope," and verses 22–26 confess the mercies and faithfulness of the LORD. Here "mercies" renders the Hebrew hesed, which denotes steadfast love grounded in the covenant. Although this confession stands at the center of the book, lament and petition resume in the latter part of chapter 3 and in chapter 5.

Interpretation

• A structural reading: Many commentators regard this passage as the turning point of the entire book, noting that it lies at the heart of the third of the five poems. On this reading, hope does not arrive after suffering has ended; it arises when, in the very act of "remembering" affliction, the speaker "recalls" the character of God.
• A reading in light of covenant faithfulness: This reading takes the passage as a confession that the people are not wiped out, even under judgment, not because of Israel's merit but because of God's covenant and faithfulness.
• A reading focused on "portion": Verse 24, "The LORD is my portion," echoes the LORD's declaration that He Himself would be the portion of the Levites, who received no allotment of land (Numbers 18:20). On this interpretation, the speaker, having lost both land and temple, confesses God Himself as his portion.
• Jewish reading: In Judaism, Lamentations is read aloud on the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av), which commemorates the destruction of the Temple.
• Church tradition: The church has read this passage as a promise of unchanging grace given to believers in the midst of suffering. Some interpreters also connect the suffering "man" of chapter 3 with the sufferings of Christ.

Questions of Application

This passage is not one on which denominations differ sharply. Nevertheless, several questions have been raised.

• Quotation out of context: Verses 22–23 are frequently lifted out on their own and used as a cheerful word of encouragement. Some point out that omitting the surrounding laments, along with the book's final verse (5:22), which ends without resolution, misses the weight of the text.
• Translation issues: In verse 22 the Hebrew Masoretic Text (the standard text transmitted by Jewish tradition) reads "we are not consumed." The Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum (ancient translations), by contrast, read "his mercies do not cease." English versions such as the RSV and ESV follow the latter reading, while the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version follow the Masoretic Text.
• The nature of waiting: Rather than understanding the "quietly wait" of verse 26 as resignation, some argue that it should be read together with "the soul that seeketh him" in verse 25 and understood as active trust.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 23, "They are new every morning," is frequently used as a text for New Year's Eve watchnight services, New Year's worship services, and early-morning devotions.
• The hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," written by Thomas Chisholm in 1923, is based on verses 22–23. It appears in the Korean hymnal under the title "O Sinsilhasin Ju" ("O Faithful Lord").

Related Passages

• Psalm 73:25–26
• Psalm 30:5
• Exodus 34:6
• 2 Timothy 2:13
• Isaiah 40:28–31