“After an enumeration of many penalties (in Chapter 2) the despair of the people is excluded. Such exclusion is divided twofold. First, despair is considered by appeals, second, is the argument for a fidelity that must be acceptable. Third, an assumed faithfulness turns the people to prayer for (divine) mercy. On despair on appeals three ideas are conveyed. First is set forth affliction itself, second a reprobation is assumed. Third, despair is concluded. To the first idea (affliction itself) two further notions are added. First, the affliction is considered which people sustained through pressure of their hands. And second, the manner of this very affliction is viewed. Third, a remedy for their escape is left out. To the affliction sustained by the pressure of hands, three more ideas are advanced. First indignation is noticed of the person pressing hands. "I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath." Jeremiah himself here is speaking in his own person, for he himself has been afflicted like other persons, concerning whom he repudiates their misery. For, Revelations 3:17 claims: "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, piteable, poor, blind and naked." Thus allegorically such can be expressed about Christ and his Church. Morally, it can refer to human souls.”

“Lamentation over grievous sufferings. The author of these sufferings is not, indeed, expressly named in the whole section, but it is unmistakeably signified that God is meant; moreover, at the end of Lam 3:18 the name יהוה is mentioned. The view thus given of the sufferings shows, not merely that he who utters the complaint perceives in these sufferings a chastisement by God, but also that this chastisement has become for him a soul-struggle, in which he may not take the name of God into his mouth; and only after he has given vent in lamentations to the deep sorrow of his soul, does his spirit get peace to mention the name of the Lord, and make complaint to Him of his need. Nothing certain can be inferred from the lamentations themselves regarding the person who makes complaint. It does not follow from Lam 3:1-3 that he was burdened with sorrows more than every one else; nor from Lam 3:14 that he was a personage well known to all the people, so that one could recognise the prophet in him. As little are they sufferings which Jeremiah has endured alone, and for his own sake, but sufferings such as many godly people of his time have undergone and struggled through. Against the Jeremianic authorship of the poem, therefore, no argument can be drawn from the fact that the personality of him who utters the complaint is concealed. Lam 3:1 In the complaint, "I am the man that saw (i.e., lived to see) misery," the misery is not specified; and we cannot, with Rosenmller, refer עני (without the article) to the misery announced by the prophet long before. "The rod of His wrath," as in Pro 22:8, is the rod of God's anger; cf. Job 21:9; Job 9:34; Isa 10:5, etc. The suffix in עברתו is not to be referred, with Aben Ezra, to the enemy. Lam 3:2 "Me hath He (God) led and brought through darkness (חשׁך, local accus.), and not light," is a combination like that in Job 12:25 and Amo 5:18. The path of Jeremiah's life certainly lay through darkness, but was not wholly devoid of light, because God had promised him His protection for the discharge of his official functions. The complaint applies to all the godly, to whom, at the fall of Jerusalem, no light appeared to cheer the darkness of life's pathway. Lam 3:3-5 "Only upon (against) me does He repeatedly turn His hand." ישׁוּב is subordinated to the idea of יהפך in an adverbial sense; cf. Gesenius, 142, 3, b. "His hand" is the smiting hand of God. אך, "only upon me," expresses the feeling which makes him on whom grievous sufferings have fallen to regard himself as one smitten in a special manner by God. "The whole day," i.e., continually; cf. Lam 1:13. - From Lam 3:4 onwards this divine chastisement is more minutely set forth under various figures, and first of all as a wasting away of the vital force. בּלּה means to wear out by rubbing, cause to fall away, from בּלה, to be worn out, which is applied to clothes, and then transferred to bodies, Job 13:28; Psa 49:15. "Flesh and skin" are the exterior and soft constituents of the body, while the bones are the firmer parts. Skin, flesh, and bones together, make up the substance of the human body. Pro 5:11 forms the foundation of the first clause. "He hath broken my bones" is a reminiscence from the lamentation of Hezekiah in Isa 38:13; cf. Psa 51:10; Job 30:17. The meaning is thus excellently given by Pareau: indicantur animi, fortius irae divinae malorumque sensu conquassati, angores. - The figure in Lam 3:5, "He builds round about and encircles me," is derived from the enclosing of a city by besieging it. עלי is to be repeated after wayaqeep. The besieging forces, which encompass him so that he cannot go out and in, are ראשׁ וּתלאה. That the former of these two words cannot mean κεφαλήν μου (lxx), is abundantly evident. ראשׁ or רושׁ is a plant with a very bitter taste, hence a poisonous plant; see on Jer 8:14. As in that passage מי ראשׁ, so here the simple ראשׁ is an emblem of bitter suffering. The combination with תּלאה, "toil," is remarkable, as a case in which a figurative is joined with a literal expression; this, however, does not justify the change of תּלאה into לענה (Castell, Schleussner, etc.). The combination is to be explained on the ground that ראשׁ had become so common a symbol of bitter suffering, that the figure was quite lost sight of behind the thing signified. Lam 3:6 Lam 3:6 is a verbatim reminiscence from Psa 143:3. מחשׁכּים is the darkness of the grave and of Sheol; cf. Psa 88:7. מתי עולם does not mean "the dead of antiquity" (Rosenmller, Maurer, Ewald, Thenius, etc.), but, as in Psa 143:3, those eternally dead, who lie in the long night of death, from which there is no return into this life. In opposition to the explanation dudum mortui, Gerlach fittingly remarks, that "it makes no difference whether they have been dead long ago or only recently, inasmuch as those dead and buried a short time ago lie in darkness equally with those who have long been dead;" while it avails nothing to point to Psa 88:5-7, as Ngelsbach does, since the special subject there treated of is not those who have long been dead. Lam 3:7 God has hedged him round like a prisoner, cut off all communication from without, so that he cannot escape, and He has loaded him with heavy chains. This figure is based on Job 19:8 and Hos 2:8. גּדר בּעדי, "He hath made an hedge round me," does not suggest prison walls, but merely seclusion within a confined space, where he is deprived of free exit. "I cannot go out," as in Psa 88:9. The seclusion is increased by fetters which are placed on the prisoner. נחשׁת, "brass," for fetters, as in German and English, "irons," for iron chains. Lam 3:8 This distress presses upon him all the more heavily, because, in addition to this, the Lord does not listen to his prayer and cries, but has rather closed His ear; cf. Jer 7:16; Psa 18:42, etc. שׂתם for סתם (only written here with שׂ), to stop the prayer; i.e., not to prevent the prayer from issuing out of the breast, to restrain supplication, but to prevent the prayer from reaching His ear; cf. Lam 3:44 and Pro 1:28. Lam 3:9 In Lam 3:9, the idea of prevention from freedom of action is further carried out on a new side. "He hath walled in my paths with hewn stones." גּזית = גזית אבּני, 1 Kings 5:31, are hewn stones of considerable size, employed for making a very strong wall. The meaning is: He has raised up insurmountable obstacles in the pathway of my life. "My paths hath He turned," i.e., rendered such that I cannot walk in them. עוּה is to turn, in the sense of destroying, as in Isa 24:1, not contortas fecit (Michaelis, Rosenmller, Kalkschmidt), nor per viam tortuosam ire cogor (Raschi); for the prophet does not mean to say (as Ngelsbach imagines), "that he has been compelled to walk in wrong and tortuous ways," but he means that God has rendered it impossible for him to proceed further in his path; cf. Job 30:13. But we are not in this to think of the levelling of a raised road, as Thenius does; for נתיבה does not mean a road formed by the deposition of rubbish, like a mound, but a footpath, formed by constant treading (Gerlach). Lam 3:10-11 Not merely, however, has God cut off every way of escape for him who here utters the complaint, but He pursues him in every possible way, that He may utterly destroy him. On the figure of a bear lying in wait, cf. Hos 13:8; Amo 5:19. It is more usual to find enemies compared to lions in ambush; cf. Ps. 10:19; Psa 17:12. The last-named passage seems to have been present to the writer's mind. The prophets frequently compare enemies to lions, e.g., Jer 5:6; Jer 4:7; Jer 49:19; Jer 50:44. - In Lam 3:11 the figure of the lion is discontinued; for cowreer דּרכי cannot be said of a beast. The verb here is not to be derived from סרר, to be refractory, but is the Pilel of סוּר, to go aside, deviate, make to draw back. To "make ways turn aside" may signify to make a person lose the right road, but not to drag back from the road (Thenius); it rather means to mislead, or even facere ut deficiant viae, to take away the road, so that one cannot escape. פּשּׁח is ἅπ. λεγ. in Hebrew; in Aramean it means to cut or tear in pieces: cf. [the Targum on] Sa1 15:33, "Samuel פּשּׁח Agag," hewed him in pieces; and on Psa 7:3, where the word is used for the Heb. פּרק, to tear in pieces (of a lion); here it signifies to tear away (limbs from the body, boughs from trees). This meaning is required by the context; for the following expression, שׂמני שׁומם, does not lead us to think of tearing in pieces, lacerating, but discerpere, plucking or pulling to pieces. For שׁומם, see on Lam 1:13, Lam 1:16. Lam 3:12-13 "He hath bent His bow," as in Lam 2:4. The second member, "He hath made me the mark for His arrows," is taken almost verbatim from Job 16:12. The arrows are the ills and sorrows appointed by God; cf. Deu 32:23; Psa 38:3; Job 6:4. Lam 3:14 "Abused in this way, he is the object of scoffing and mockery" (Gerlach). In the first clause, the complaint of Jeremiah in Jer 20:7 is reproduced. Rosenmller, Ewald, and Thenius are inclined to take עמּי as an abbreviated form of the plur. עמּים, presuming that the subject of the complaint is the people of Israel. But in none of the three passages in which Ewald (Gram. 177, a), following the Masoretes, is ready to recognise such a plural-ending, does there seem any need or real foundation for the assumption. Besides this passage, the others are Sa2 22:44 and Psa 144:2. In these last two cases עמּי gives a suitable enough meaning as a singular (see the expositions of these passages); and in this verse, as Gerlach has already remarked, against Rosenmller, neither the conjoined כּל nor the plural suffix of נגינתם requires us to take עמּי as a plural, the former objection being removed on a comparison of Gen 41:10, and the latter when we consider the possibility of a constructio ad sensum in the case of the collective עם. But the assumption that here the people are speaking, or that the poet (prophet) is complaining of the sufferings of the people in their name, is opposed by the fact that הגּבר stands at the beginning of this lamentation, Lam 3:1. If, however, the prophet complained in the name of each individual among God's people, he could not set up כּל־עמּי in opposition to them, because by that very expression the scoffing is limited to the great body of the people. The Chaldee, accordingly, is substantially correct in its paraphrase, omnibus protervis populi mei (following Dan 11:14). But that the mass of the people were not subdued by suffering, and that there was a great number of those who would not recognise the chastening hand of God in the fall of the kingdom, and who scoffed at the warnings of the prophets, is evinced, not merely by the history of the period immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer. 41ff.), and by the conduct of Ishmael and his followers (Jer 41:2.), and of the insolent men who marched to Egypt in spite of Jeremiah's warning (Jer 43:2), but also by the spirit that prevailed among the exiles, and against which Ezekiel had to contend; cf. e.g., Eze 12:22. נגינתם is a reminiscence from Job 30:9; cf. Psa 69:13. Lam 3:15-16 "He fills me with bitternesses" is a reminiscence from Job 9:18, only ממרורים being exchanged for מרורים. Of these two forms, the first occurs only in Job, l.c.; the latter denotes, in Exo 12:8 and Num 9:11, "bitter herbs," but here "bitternesses." The reality (viz., bitter sorrow) is what Jeremiah threatens the people with in Jer 9:14; Jer 23:15. The figure employed in Lam 3:16 is still stronger. "He made my teeth be ground down on gravel." חצץ means a gravel stone, gravel, Pro 20:17. גּרס (which occurs only in Psa 119:20 as well as here, and is allied to גּרשׂ, from which comes גּרשׂ, something crushed, Lev 2:14, Lev 2:16) signifies to be ground down, and in Hiphil to grind down, not to cause to grind; hence בּחצץ cannot be taken as a second object, "He made my teeth grind gravel" (Ewald); but the words simply mean, "He ground my teeth on the gravel," i.e., He made them grind away on the gravel. As regards the application of the words, we cannot follow the older expositors in thinking of bread mixed with stones, but must view the giving of stones for bread as referring to cruel treatment. The lxx have rendered הכפּישׁני by ἐψώμισέν με σποδόν, the Vulgate by cibavit me cinere. This translation has not been lexically established, but is a mere conjecture from Psa 102:10. The ἁπ λεγ. ̔́̔̀נבך̓̀צ is allied with ,כּבשׁsubigere, and means in Rabbinic, deprimere; cf. Buxtorf, Lex. Rabb. s.v. Similarly, the Chaldee had previously explained the words to mean humiliavit ( )כּנעme in cinere; and Raschi, כפה inclinavit s. subegit me. Luther follows these in his rendering, "He rolls me in the ashes," which is a figure signifying the deepest disgrace and humiliation, or a hyperbolical expression for sprinkling with ashes (Eze 27:30), as a token of descent into the depths of sorrow. Lam 3:17-18 In Lam 3:17 and Lam 3:18 the speaker, in his lamentation, gives expression to that disposition of his heart which has been produced by the misery that has befallen him to so fearful an extent. He has quite given up hopes of attaining safety and prosperity, and his hope in the Lord is gone. In Lam 3:17 it is a question whether תּזנח is second or third pers. of the imperf. Following the lxx, who give the rendering ἀπώσατο ἐξ εἰρήνης ψυχήν μου, Rosenmller, Gesenius, De Wette, and Ngelsbach consider זנח transitive, as in Deu 2:7, and take תּזנח as of the second pers.: "Thou didst reject my soul (me) from peace." But to this view of the words there is the decided objection, that neither before nor after is there any direct address to Jahveh, and that the verbs which immediately follow stand in the first person, and succeed the first clause appropriately enough, provided we take נפשׁי as the subject to תּזנח (third pers.). זנח has both a transitive and an intransitive meaning in Kal; cf. Hos 8:3 (trans.) and Hos 8:5 (intrans.). Ngelsbach has no ground for casting doubt on the intrans. meaning in Hos 8:5. Moreover, the objection that the passage now before us is a quotation from Psa 88:15 (Ngelsbach) does not prove that תּזנח נפשׁי is to be taken in the same sense here as in that passage: "O Jahveh, Thou despisest my soul." By adding משּׁלום, Jeremiah has made an independent reproduction of that passage in the Psalms, if he had it before his mind. This addition does not permit of our attaching a transitive sense to תּזנח, for the verb means to despise, not to reject; hence we cannot render the words, "Thou didst reject my soul from peace." The meaning of the clause is not "my soul loathes prosperity," as it is rendered by Thenius, who further gives the sense as follows: "I had such a thorough disgust for life, that I had no longer the least desire for prosperity." As Gerlach has already remarked, this explanation neither harmonizes with the meaning of שׁלום, not with the expression of doubt in the following verse, which implies a very lively "sense of the prosperous;" moreover, it has no good lexical basis. The fundamental meaning of זנח is to stink, be rancid, from which comes the metaphorical one of instilling disgust, - not, feeling disgust (Hos 8:5), - and further, that of despising. The meaning "to instil disgust" does not suit this passage, but only that of being despised. "My soul is despised of prosperity," i.e., so that it shares not in prosperity; with this accords the intransitive use of the Hiphil הזניח with מן, Ch2 11:14. The Vulgate, which does not catch the idea of זנח so exactly, renders the passage by expulsa est a pace anima mea. To this there are appropriately joined the words, "I have forgotten good" (good fortune), because I constantly experience nothing but misfortune; and not less appropriate is the expression of doubt, "I say (i.e., I think) my strength and my hope from Jahveh is gone (vanished)," i.e., my strength is worn out through suffering, and I have nothing more to hope for from Jahveh. Starting from the fundamental idea of stability, permanence, נצח, according to the traditional explanation, means vigor, strength; then, by a metaphor, vis vitalis, Isa 63:3, Isa 63:6, - not trust (Rosenmller, Thenius, Ngelsbach, etc.), in support of which we are pointed to Sa1 15:29, but without sufficient reason; see Delitzsch on Isaiah, l.c. The complaint here attains its deepest and worst. The complainant in his thoughts has gone far from God, and is on the very verge of despair. But here also begins the turning-point. When for the first time he utters the name of God in the expression "my hope from Jahveh," he shows that Jahveh is to him also still the ground of hope and trust. Hence also he not merely complains, "my strength is gone," etc., but introduces this thought with the words ואמר, "I said," sc. in my heart, i.e., I thought, "my strength is gone, and my hope from Jahveh lost," i.e., vanished. The mention of the name Jahveh, i.e., the Covenant-God, keeps him from sinking into despair, and urges him not to let go his trust on the Lord, so that he can now (in what follows) complain to the Lord of his state of distress, and beseech His help.”

“Third is the condition for the blows: "Surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long." Namely, there follows a sequence of affliction that considers such blows alone. "Surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long." That is, striking blows again and again. Hence, Isaiah 9:12: "For all this, his anger is not turned away and his hand is stretched out still."”

“Here is viewed the effect of divine blows. It is like a livid spot on a person's body, the effect from a rod inflicting blows. First is the weakening of powers of an entire people. For: "He has made my flesh": by which people eternally existing: and "my skin waste away": in which are delicate bones. Also: "my bones": in which are a strong warrior people. So, the Book of Baruch 3:10 says: "Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies that you are growing old in a foreign country?"”

“Verse 4 views the effect of divine blows. It is like a livid spot on a person's body, the effect from a rod inflicting blows. So, about this are three more views. Second is the siege of those people already weakening. Since Verse 5 reports: "He has besieged and enveloped me," Namely, the besieging army: "with bitterness and tribulation." That is, by an army that inflicts labor and bitterness on me. As Job 7:12 asks: "Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that thou settest a guard over me?"”

“Gall. Septuagint, “head.” Chaldean, “he hath seized the chief,” Job xvi. 13. He speaks in the name of the besieged, who had been threatened with this punishment, ver. 19., and chap. viii. 14. (Calmet) — And labour. Nabuzardan ransacked the city worse than his master, (Worthington) if the latter was at all present. (Haydock)”

“Third, the imprisonment of those persons captured is considered. "He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago." And Psalm 143:3 says: "he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead." Thus, these ideas can be referred to the prophet Jeremiah himself. Since, he himself has been confined by many obstacles, and also against his own body, and hidden in a prison.”

“A remedy for an escape from enemies' siege is cut off. "He has walled me about so that I cannot escape." That is, by the besieging army. "He has put heavy chains on me." This indicates that I (Jeremiah) am besieged just like those persons who are sent to prison and cannot escape. Thus, Psalm 88:8 claims: "I am shut in so that I cannot escape." And Job 13:27 says: "Thou puttest my feet in the stocks, and watchest all my paths."”

“Third, a remedy for escape is cut off due to a hindrance in counselling. "He has blocked my ways with hewn stones, he has made my paths crooked." Namely, he has blocked counsels for escaping: "with hewn stones": like to heavy impediments. The prophet Hosea thus claims: "Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths." (Hosea 2:6).”

“The manner for afflicting is stated here. First the manner is insidious, second, it is open. Regarding the insidious manner for afflicting two more ideas are presented. First is the insidious action of enemies. "He is to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding." Just like Nabuchodonosor fighting against me (Jeremiah), from ambush. "He is to me like a bear": cruel, and "like a lion": in which is designated the above ruler (Nabuchodonosor). As the prophet Hosea relates: "So I will be to them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk beside the way" (Hosea 13:7).”

“The manner for afflicting is stated here. First the manner is insidious, second, it is open. Regarding the insidious manner for afflicting two more ideas are presented. First is the insidious action of enemies. "He is to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding." Just like Nabuchodonosor fighting against me (Jeremiah), from ambush. "He is to me like a bear": cruel, and "like a lion": in which is designated the above ruler (Nabuchodonosor). As the prophet Hosea relates: "So I will be to them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk beside the way" (Hos 13:7). Second, ambushes, or plots of such enemies whom they would repel. "He led me off my way and tore me to pieces." As expressed in Chapter 1:13 "he has left me stunned, faint all the day long."”

“"He bent his bow and set me as a mark for his arrow." Here is displayed what is publicly and openly added to the very manner. About this above idea three more notions are added. First is exposed the proposal: "He bent his bow and set me." Namely, like to a judgment, or to an army of enemies. For Psalm 7:12 states: "he has bent and strung his bow." And Job 16:12: "he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target."”

“Here secondly the affliction of penalty says: "He drove into my heart." Namely, by which the luxury of a people is indicated. Then: "the arrows of his quiver." That is, difference of penalties issuing forth from his governance. As Job 30:11 states: "Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my presence."”

“Third, the delusion of those persons punished is exposed: "I have become the laughing stock of all peoples, the burden of their songs all day long." As elsewhere said: "I have become a laughing stock all the day; every one mocks me." (Jeremiah 20:7). That is, just as people are accustomed to be derided by others.”

“"He has filled me with bitterness, he has sated me with wormwood." Thus is shown how wide is such, and first as to the multitude of penalties. Namely, "he has filled me with bitterness": by different obstacles which is afflicted abundantly. Then, secondly: "he has sated me with wormwood." That is, regarding the number punished.”

“The afflictions are here pursued. "He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes." That is, like to the warriors by whom defended, and like to teeth of beasts on gravel. So, nothing remains except in ashes as if worthless. And since Psalm 102:9 declares: "For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink."”

“"My soul is bereft of peace." Here is assumed a rejection: "My soul is bereft": of God's divine mercy. Like Psalm 89:39 declares: "Thou hast renounced the covenant with thy servant; thou hast defiled his crown in the dust." "I have forgotten what happiness is." Namely, due to the experience of evils. For, Sirach 11:27 claims: "The misery of an hour makes one forget luxury."”

“"So I say, 'Gone is my glory and my expectation from the Lord'." That is, like one who concludes in desperation. Also, like one who would claim: since I am amidst obstacles, and the Lord rejects me, He does not aid me. Again: "so, I say": within my heart, like a person in desperation. Thus, in conclusion is said: "Gone is my glory, and my expectation from the Lord." Such states, as if: I do not accomplish what I had expected. And as Jeremiah 2:25 asserts: "But you said, 'It is hopeless, for I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.'" Also, Malachi 3:14: "You have said 'It is vain to serve God. What is the good of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?'"”

“Here is indicated arguments to wipe out despair. First, by divine mercy, second, by divine justice. Third, by divine power. To the exclusion of despair by divine mercy, two further ideas are exposed. First, is shown mercy regarding a collection of benefits, second regarding a relaxation of punishments. Referring to divine mercy towards the collection of benefits three more notions are advanced. First is the memory of past benefits, second, the experience of present benefits. Third, is the expectation of future benefits. For the memory of past benefits three more ideas are referred to. First, the memory induces prophets towards God, as to a due consideration of evils encountered. While saying: O Lord God you seem dissimulating while forgetting us. So, "remember my affliction": freeing us from affliction, as to loss of possessions. And: "my bitterness": as to my fault that is the cause of so much misery. Also: "the wormwood and the gall," an affliction upon humankind.”

“Consideration of God's compassion and His omnipotence as displayed at critical junctures in the affairs of men. C. B. Michaelis has correctly perceived, and thus set forth, the transition from the complaint, bordering on despair, to hope, as given in Lam 3:19 : luctatur hic contra desperationis adfectum, quo tentatus fuerat, Lam 3:18, mix inde per fidem emersurus. In like manner it is said in the Berleburger Bibel, "In Lam 3:19 he struggles with despair, to which he had been tempted, and in the following verse soars up once more into the region of faith." By the resumption of עני from Lam 3:1, and of לענה and ראשׁ from Lam 3:15 and Lam 3:5, the contents of the whole preceding lamentation are given in a summary, and by זכר are presented to God in prayer. "Mine affliction" is intensified by the addition of "my persecution" (see on Lam 1:7), and the contents of the lamentation thereby more plainly pointed out. This connection of the verse has been misunderstood in many ways. An old interpretation of the words, still maintained by Bttcher and Thenius, makes זכר an infinitive; according to this view, Lam 3:19 would require to be conjoined with the preceding, and the inf. without ל would stand for the ground, recordando, "while I think of," - which is grammatically impossible. (Note: Seb. Mnster long since said: Secundum quosdam est זכר infinit., ut sit sensus: periit spes mea, recordante me afflictionis meae. Calvin also gives the preference to this view, with the remark: Videtur enim hic propheta exprimere, quomodo fere a spe exciderit, ut nihil reperiret amplius fortitudinis in Deo, quia scilicet oppressus erat malis; in support of which he affirms that it is valde absurdum, eos qui experti sunt aliquando Dei misericordiam, sic omnem spem abjicere, ut non statuant amplius sibi esse refugium ad Deum.) The same remark applies to the assumption that זכר is an infinitive which is resumed in Lam 3:20 : "it thinks of my misery...yes, my soul thinks thereon" (Bttcher, Thenius). Gerlach very properly remarks concerning this view that such a construction is unexampled, and, as regards the change in the form of the infinitive (constr. and abs.), would be unintelligible. The objection of Thenius, however, that the imperative meaning usually attached to זכר is against the whole context, and quite inappropriate here, is connected with the erroneous assumption that Lam 3:19 and Lam 3:20 form a continuation of what precedes, and that the idea of the speaker's being completely overwhelmed by the thought of all that he had suffered and still suffers, forms the proper conclusion of the first part, after which, from Lam 3:21 onwards, there follows relief. Gerlach has rightly opposed to these arguments the following considerations: (1) That, after the outburst of despair in Lam 3:18, "my strength is gone, and my hope from Jahveh," the words "my soul is bowed down in me" form far too feeble a conclusion; (2) That it is undoubtedly more correct to make the relief begin with a prayer breathed out through sighs (Lam 3:19), than with such a reflection as is expressed in Lam 3:21. Ewald also is right in taking זכר as an imperative, but is mistaken in the notion that the speaker addresses any one who is ready to hear him; this view is shown to be erroneous by the simple fact that, in what precedes and succeeds, the thoughts of the speaker are directed to God only. Lam 3:20-23 The view taken of this verse will depend on the answer to the question whether תּזכר is second or third pers. fem. Following in the wake of Luther ("Thou wilt assuredly think thereon"), C. B. Michaelis, Pareau, Rosenmller, and Kalkschmidt take it as second pers.: "Think, yea, think wilt Thou, that my soul is bowed down in me," or "that my soul is at rest within me" (Ngelsbach). But it is impossible to maintain either of these views in the face of the language employed. To take the ו before תּשׁיח in the meaning of quod is characterized by Ngelsbach as an arbitrary procedure, unwarranted either by Gen 30:27 or Eze 13:11; but neither can the meaning of resting, being at east, which is attributed to שׁוּח or שׁיח by that writer, be established. The verb means to sink down, Pro 2:18, and metaphorically, to be bowed down, Psa 44:26. The latter meaning is required in the present passage, from the simple fact that the sentence undeniably refers to Psa 42:6. (Note: Luther's translation, "for my soul tells me," is founded on the circumstance that the lxx have mistaken שׁיח for שׂיח: καταδολεσχήσει ἐπ ̓ ἐμὲ ἡ ψυχή μου.) ותּשׁיח expresses the consequence of זכר תּזכר, which therefore can only be the third pers., and "my soul" the subject of both clauses; for there is no logical consecution of the meaning given by such a rendering as, "If Thou wilt remember, my soul shall be bowed within me." The expression, "If my soul duly meditates thereon (on the deep suffering), it becomes depressed within me," forms the foundation of the request that God would think of his distress, his misery; and Lam 3:21, "I will lay this to heart," connects itself with the leading thought set forth in Lam 3:19, the reason for which is given in Lam 3:20, viz., that my soul is only bowed down within me over the thought of my distress, and must complain of it to God, that He may think of it and alleviate it: This will I lay to heart and set my hope upon. על־כּן is a strong inferential expression: "therefore," because God alone can help, will I hope. This self-encouragement begins with Lam 3:22, inasmuch as the prophet strengthens his hope by a consideration of the infinite compassion of the Lord. (It is) חסדי, "the mercies of God," i.e., proofs of His mercy (cf. Psa 89:2; Psa 107:43; Isa 63:7), "that we are not utterly consumed," as Luther and similarly our English translators have excellently rendered תּמנוּ. This form stands for תּמּונוּ, as in Jer 44:18; Num 17:1-13 :28, not for תּמּוּ, third pers., as Pareau, Thenius, Vaihinger, and Ewald, referring to his Grammar, 84, b, would take it. The proofs of the grace of God have their foundation in His compassion, from which they flow. In Lam 3:23 we take חסדי as the subject of חדשׁים; it is the proofs of the grace of God that are new every morning, not "His compassions," although the idea remains the same. לבּקרים, every morning, as in Isa 33:2; Psa 73:14. Ubi sol et dies oritur, simul et radii hujus inexhaustae bonitatis erumpunt (Tarnovius in Rosenmller). The consciousness of this constant renewal of the divine favour impels to the prayerful exclamation, "great is Thy faithfulness;" cf. Psa 36:6. Lam 3:24-28 "My portion is Jahveh:" this is a reminiscence from Psa 16:5; Psa 73:26; Psa 142:6; cf. Psa 119:57, where the expression found here is repeated almost verbatim. The expression is based on Num 18:20, where the Lord says to Aaron, "I am thy portion and thine inheritance;" i.e., Jahveh will be to the tribe of Levi what the other tribes receive in their territorial possessions in Canaan; Levi shall have his possession and enjoyment in Jahveh. The last clause, "therefore will I hope," etc., is a repetition of what is in Lam 3:21, as if by way of refrain. This hope cannot be frustrated, Lam 3:25. The fundamental idea of the section contained in Lam 3:25-33 is thus stated by Ngelsbach: "The Lord is well disposed towards the children of men under all circumstances; for even when He smites them, He seeks their highest interest: they ought so to conduct themselves in adversity, that it is possible for Him to carry out His designs." On Lam 3:25, cf. Psa 34:9; Psa 86:5; and on the general meaning, also Psa 25:3; Psa 69:7. If the Lord is kind to those who hope in Him, then it is good for man to wait patiently for His help in suffering. Such is the mode in which Lam 3:26 is attached to Lam 3:25. טוב, Lam 3:26 and Lam 3:27, followed by ל dat., means to be good for one, i.e., beneficial. Some expositors (Gesenius, Rosenmller, Maurer, Ngelsbach) take יחיל as a noun-form, substantive or adjective; דּוּמם is then also taken in the same way, and ו - ו as correlative: "it is good both to wait and be silent." But although there are analogous cases to support the view that יחיל is a noun-form, the constant employment of דּוּמם as an adverb quite prevents us from taking it as an adjective. Moreover, "to be silent for the help of the Lord," would be a strange expression, and we would rather expect "to be silent and wait for;" and finally, waiting and silence are so closely allied, that the disjunctive ו - ו et - et appears remarkable. We prefer, then, with Ewald (Gram. ֗235, a) and others, to take יחיל as a verbal form, and that, too, in spite of the i in the jussive form of the Hiphil for יחל, from חוּל, in the meaning of יחל, to wait, tarry. "It is good that he (man) should wait, and in silence too (i.e., without complaining), for the help of the Lord." On the thought presented here, cf. Psa 38:7 and Isa 30:15. Hence it is also good for man to bear a yoke in youth (Lam 3:27), that he may exercise himself in calm waiting on the help of the Lord. In the present context the yoke is that of sufferings, and the time of youth is mentioned as the time of freshness and vigour, which render the bearing of burdens more easy. He who has learned in youth to bear sufferings, will not sink into despair should they come on him in old age. Instead of בּנעוּריו, Theodotion has ἐκ νεότητος αὐτοῦ, which is also the reading of the Aldine edition of the lxx; and some codices have מנּעוּריו. But this reading is evidently a correction, prompted by the thought that Jeremiah, who composed the Lamentations in his old age, had much suffering to endure from the time of his call to the prophetic office, in the earlier portion of his old age; nor is it much better than the inference of J. D. Michaelis, that Jeremiah composed this poem when a youth, on the occasion of King Josiah's death. - In Lam 3:28-30, the effect of experience by suffering is set forth, yet not in such a way that the verses are to be taken as still dependent on כּי in Lam 3:27 (Luther, Pareau, De Wette, Maurer, and Thenius): "that he should sit alone and be silent," etc. Such a combination is opposed to the independent character of each separate alphabetic strophe. Rather, the result of early experience in suffering and patience is developed in a cohortative form. The connection of thought is simply as follows: Since it is good for man that he should learn to endure suffering, let him sit still and bear it patiently, when God puts such a burden on him. Let him sit solitary, as becomes those in sorrow (see on Lam 1:1), and be silent, without murmuring (cf. Lam 3:26), when He lays a burden on him. There is no object to נטל expressly mentioned, but it is easily understood from the notion of the verb (if He lays anything on him), or from על in Lam 3:27 (if He lays a yoke on him). We are forbidden to consider the verbs as indicatives ("he sits alone and is silent;" Gerlach, Ngelsbach) by the apocopated form יתּן in Lam 3:29, Lam 3:30, which shows that ישׁב and ידּם are also cohortatives. Lam 3:29 "Let him put his mouth in the dust," i.e., humbly bow beneath the mighty hand of God. The expression is derived from the Oriental custom of throwing oneself in the most reverential manner on the ground, and involves the idea of humble silence, because the mouth, placed in the dust, cannot speak. The clause, "perhaps there is hope," indicates the frame of mind to be observed in the submission. While the man is to show such resignation, he is not to give up the hope that God will deliver him from trouble; cf. Job 11:18; Jer 31:17. Lam 3:30-36 Let him also learn patiently to bear abuse and reviling from men. Let him present his cheek to him who smites him, as was done by Job (Job 16:10) and the servant of Jahveh (Isa 50:6); cf. Mat 5:39. On Lam 3:30, cf. Psa 88:4; Psa 123:3, etc. There is a certain gradation in the three verses that it quite unmistakeable. The sitting alone and in silence is comparatively the easiest; it is harder to place the mouth in the dust, and yet cling to hope; it is most difficult of all to give the cheek to the smiter, and to satiate oneself with dishonour (Ngelsbach). In Lam 3:31-33 follow the grounds of comfort. The first is in Lam 3:31 : the sorrow will come to an end; the Lord does not cast off for ever; cf. Jer 3:5, Jer 3:12. The second is in Lam 3:32 : when He has caused sorrow, He shows pity once more, according to the fulness of His grace. Compassion outweighs sorrow. On this subject, cf. Psa 30:6; Job 5:18; Isa 54:8. The third ground of comfort is in Lam 3:33 : God does not send affliction willingly, as if it brought Him joy (cf. Jer 32:41), but merely because chastisement is necessary to sinful man for the increase of his spiritual prosperity; cf. Act 14:22; Co2 4:17. ויּגּה is for וייגּה: cf. Ewald, 232, f; Gesenius, 69, 3, Rem. 6. That he may bring home to the hearts of God's people the exhortation to bear suffering with patience and resignation, and that he may lead them to see that the weight of sorrow under which they are sighing has been sent from the Lord as a chastisement for their sins, the prophet carries out the thought, in Lam 3:34-39, that every wrong committed upon earth is under the divine control (Lam 3:34-36), and generally that nothing happens without God's permission; hence man ought not to mourn over the suffering that befalls him, but rather over his sins (Lam 3:37-39). Lam 3:34-36 These verses form one connected sentence: while the subject and predicate for the three infinitival clauses do not follow till the words אדני לא ראה, the infinitives with their objects depend on ראה. If there were any foundation for the assertion of Bttcher in his Aehrenlese, that ראה never occurs in construction with ל, we could take the infinitives with ל as the objects of ראה, in the sense, "As to the crushing of all the prisoners," etc. But the assertion is devoid of truth, and disproved by Sa1 16:7, האדם יראה לעינים ויהוה יראה. In the three infinitival clauses three modes of unjust dealing are set forth. The treading down to the earth of all prisoners under his (the treader's) feet, refers to cruel treatment of the Jews by the Chaldeans at the taking of Jerusalem and Judah, and generally to deeds of violence perpetrated by victors in war. This explains כּל, which Kalkschmidt and Thenius incorrectly render "all captives of the land (country)." Those intended are prisoners generally, who in time of war are trodden down to the earth, i.e., cruelly treated. The other two crimes mentioned, vv. 35 and 36, are among the sins of which Judah and Israel have been guilty, - the former being an offence against the proper administration of justice, and the latter falling under the category of unjust practices in the intercourse of ordinary life. "To pervert the right of a man before the face of the Most High" does not mean, in general, proterve, et sine ull numinis inspectantis reverenti (C. B. Michaelis, Rosenmller); but just as הטות משׁפּט is taken from the law (Exo 23:6; Num 16:19, etc.), so also is נגד פּני עליון to be explained in accordance with the directions given in the law (Exo 22:7, Exo 22:9), that certain clauses were to be brought before האלהים, where this word means the judge or judges pronouncing sentence in the name of God; cf. Psa 82:6, where the judges, as God's representatives, are called אלהים and בּני אלהים. "Before the face of the Most High" thus means, before the tribunal which is held in the name of the Most High. "To turn aside a man in his cause" means to pervert his right in a dispute (cf. Job 8:3; Job 34:12, etc.), which may also be done in contested matters that do not come before the public tribunal. The meaning of the three verses depends on the explanation given of אדני לא ראה, which is a disputed point. ראה with ל, "to look on something," may mean to care for it, be concerned about it, but not to select, choose, or to resolve upon, approve (Michaelis, Ewald, Thenius). Nor can the prophet mean to say, "The Lord does not look upon the treading down of the prisoners, the perversion of justice." If any one be still inclined, with Rosenmller and others, to view the words as the expression of a fact, then he must consider them as an exception taken by those who murmur against God, but repelled in Lam 3:37. Moreover, he must, in some such way as the following, show the connection between Lam 3:33 and Lam 3:34, by carrying out the idea presented in the exhortation to hope for compassion: "But will any one say that the Lord knows nothing of this - does not trouble Himself about such sufferings?" Whereupon, in Lam 3:37, the answer follows: "On the contrary, nothing happens without the will of God" (Gerlach). But there is no point of attachment that can possibly be found in the words of the text for showing such a connection; we must therefore reject this view as being artificial, and forced upon the text. The difficulty is solved in a simple manner, by taking the words אדני לא as a question, just as has been already done in the Chaldee paraphrase: fierine potest ut in conspectu Jovae non reveletur? The absence of the interrogative particle forms no objection to this, inasmuch as a question is pretty often indicated merely by the tone. Lam 3:38 must also be taken interrogatively. Bצttcher and Thenius, indeed, think that the perfect ראה is incompatible with this; but the objection merely tells against the rendering, "Should not the Lord see it?" (De Wette, Maurer, Kalkschmidt), which of course would require יראה. But the idea rather is, "Hath not the Lord looked upon this?" The various acts of injustice mentioned in the three verses are not set forth merely as possible events, but as facts that have actually occurred. Lam 3:37-39 Lam 3:37 brings the answer to this question in a lively manner, and likewise in an interrogative form: "Who hath spoken, and it came to pass, which the Lord hath not commanded?" The thought here presented reminds us of the word of the Creator in Gen 1:3. The form of the expression is an imitation of Psa 33:9. Rosenmller gives the incorrect rendering, Quis est qui dixit: factum est (i.e., quis audeat dicere fieri quicquam), non praecipiente Deo; although the similar but more free translation of Luther, "Who dares to say that such a thing happens without the command of the Lord?" gives the sense in a general way. The meaning is as follows: Nothing takes place on the earth which the Lord has not appointed; no man can give and execute a command against the will of God. From this it further follows (Lam 3:38), that evil and good will proceed from the mouth of the Lord, i.e., be wrought by Him; on this point, cf. Isa 45:7; Amo 3:6. לא תצא gives no adequate meaning unless it be taken interrogatively, and as indicating what is usual - wont to be. And then there is established from this, in Lam 3:39, the application of the general principle to the particular case in question, viz., the grievous suffering of individuals at the downfall of the kingdom of Judah. "Why does a man sigh as long as he lives? Let every one [sigh] for his sins." Man is not to sigh over suffering and sorrow, but only over his sin. התאונן occurs only here and in Num 11:1, and signifies to sigh, with the accessory notion of murmuring, complaining. חי appended to אדם is more of a predicate than a simple attributive: man, as long as he lives, i.e., while he is in this life. The verse is viewed in a different light by Pareau, Ewald, Neumann, and Gerlach, who combine both members into one sentence, and render it thus: "Why doth a man complain, so long as he lives, - a man over the punishment of his sins?" [Similar is the rendering of our "Authorized" Version.] Neumann translates: "A man in the face of [Ger. bei] his sins." But this latter rendering is lexically inadmissible, because על esua in this connection cannot mean "in view of." The other meaning assigned is improbable, though there is nothing against it, lexically considered. For though חטא, sin, may also signify the punishment of sin, the latter meaning does not suit the present context, because in what precedes it is not said that the people suffer for their sins, but merely that their suffering has been appointed by God. If, then, in what follows, there is an exhortation to return to the Lord (Lam 3:40.), and in Lam 3:42 a confession of sins made; if, moreover, Lam 3:39 forms the transition from Lam 3:33-38 to the exhortation that succeeds (Lam 3:40.); then it is not abstinence from murmuring or sighing over the punishment of sins that forms the true connecting link of the two lines of thought, but merely the refraining from complaint over sufferings, coupled with the exhortation to sigh over their won sins. Tarnov also has viewed the verse in this way, when he deduces from it the advice to every soul labouring under a weight of sorrows: est igitur optimus ex malis emergendi modus Deum excusare et se ipsum accusare.”

“Presently the experience of divine mercy is exposed. First, to the recognition of divine mercy itself: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end." That is, not punishing, as if unmerciful. Since the Lord punished worthily, not reducing his creations backwards to extinction, or nothingness. Thus, Jeremiah 10:24 declares: "Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing."”

“Second, an approbation from the Lord's divine mercy is indicated. "They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness." Namely, as I, the Lord God, openly approve. Again: "great is thy faithfulness." That is, regarding Jeremiah, who, among your suppliants, acknowledge you. For, the Apostle Matthew reports: "Then Jesus answered her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire'." (Matthew 15:28).”

“"There is none good but one, God the Father." This word they declare is peculiar to the Father of Christ, who, however, is different from the God who is creator of all things, to which creator he gave no appellation of goodness. Let us see now if, in the Old Testament, the God of the prophets and the Creator and Legislator of the word is not called good. What are the expressions that occur in the psalms? "How good is God to Israel, to the upright in heart!" and, "Let Israel now say that he is good, that his mercy endures for ever," the language in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him." As therefore God is frequently called good in the Old Testament, so also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is styled just in the Gospels. Finally, in the Gospel according to John, our Lord, when praying to the Father, says, "O just Father, the world has not known you." And lest perhaps they should say that it was owing to his having assumed human flesh that he called the Creator of the world Father and styled him just, they are excluded from such a refuge by the words that immediately follow, "The world has not known you." But, according to them, the world is ignorant of the good God alone. For the world unquestionably recognizes its Creator, the Lord saying that the world loves what is its own. Clearly, then, he whom they consider to be the good God is called just in the Gospels. Anyone may at leisure gather together a greater number of proofs, consisting of those passages, where in the New Testament the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is called just, and in the Old also, where the Creator of heaven and earth is called good; so that the heretics, being convicted by numerous testimonies, may perhaps some time be put to the blush.”

“Divine mercy is here designated as to expectation of future events. First, the expectation itself, second, to the condition of such expectation. Regarding this expectation of future events three ideas are proposed. First is the result of such an expectation: "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him." That is, as if spreading proper possessions. Since, Psalm 73:1 claims: "Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart."”

“Up then, I beseech you, let us fight for the Lord's sheep. Their Lord is near. He will certainly appear and scatter the wolves and glorify the shepherds. "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him." Let us not murmur at the storm that has arisen, for the Lord of all knows what is good for us. Wherefore also when the apostle asked for release from his trials he would not grant his supplication but said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Let us then bravely bear the evils that befall us; it is in war that heroes are discerned, in conflicts that athletes are crowned, in the surge of the sea that the art of the helmsman is shown, in the fire that the gold is tried. And let us not, I beseech you, heed only ourselves; let us rather have forethought for the rest, and that much more for the sick than for the whole, for it is an apostolic precept that exclaims, "Comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak." Let us then stretch out our hands to them that lie low, let us tend their wounds and set them at their post to fight the devil. Nothing will so vex him as to see them fighting and striking again. Our Lord is full of lovingkindness. He receives the repentance of sinners. Let us hear his words: "As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." So he prefaced his words with an oath, and he who forbids oaths to others swore himself to convince us how he desires our repentance and salvation. Of this teaching the divine books, both the old and the new, are full, and the precepts of the holy Fathers teach the same.But not as though you were ignorant have I written to you; rather have I reminded you of what you know, like those who standing safe on the shore help those who are tossed by the storm and show them a rock, or give warning of a hidden shallow or catch and haul in a rope that has been thrown. "And the God of peace shall bring Satan under your feet shortly" and shall gladden our ears with news that you have passed from storm to calm, at his word to the waves, "peace be still." And you also should offer prayers for us, for you who have undergone peril for his sake can speak with greater boldness.”

“Divine mercy is here designated as to expectation of future events. First, the expectation itself, second, to the condition of such expectation. Regarding this expectation of future events three ideas are proposed. Second, the manner of this expectation is noticed. "It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Namely, patiently, and without a murmur. For Isaiah 30:15 asserts: "in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."”

“Celsus then extracts from the gospel the precept, "To him who strikes you once, you shall offer yourself to be struck again," although without giving any passage from the Old Testament that he considers opposed to it. On the one hand, we know that "it was said to them in old time, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," and on the other, we have read, "I say to you, Whoever shall strike you on the one cheek, turn to him the other also." But as there is reason to believe that Celsus produces the objections that he has heard from those who wish to make a difference between the God of the gospel and the God of the law, we must say in reply, that this precept, "Whoever shall strike you on the one cheek, turn to him the other," is not unknown in the older Scriptures. For thus, in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, it is said, "It is good for a person that he bear the yoke in his youth: he sits alone and keeps silence, because he has borne it on him. He gives his cheek to him that strikes him; he is filled full with reproach." There is no discrepancy, then, between the God of the gospel and the God of the law, even when we take literally the precept regarding the blow on the face. So, then, we infer that neither "Jesus nor Moses has taught falsely." The Father in sending Jesus did not "forget the commands that he had given to Moses": he did not "change his mind, condemn his own laws and send by his messenger counter instructions."”

“Therefore, it is becoming that we should kindle the unquenchable light of faith in the heart, and gird our loins with purity and watch and ever wait for the Lord so that, if he should will to come and take any of us away in the first period of life, or in the second or in the third, and should find us most ready and working what he appointed, he may make us to lie down in the bosom of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. Now Jeremiah says, "It is good for a person that he bear the yoke in his youth" and "that his soul should not depart from the Lord." It is good, indeed, from youth, to submit the neck to the divine hand and not to shake off, even to old age, the Rider who guides with pure mind, when the evil one is ever dragging down the mind to that which is worse. For who is there who does not receive through the eyes, through the ears, through the taste and smell and touch, pleasures and delights, so as to become impatient of the control of continence as a driver, who checks and vehemently restrains the horse from evil? Another who turns his thoughts to other things will think differently; but we say that he offers himself perfectly to God who strives to keep the flesh undefiled from childhood, practicing virginity; for it speedily brings great and much-desired gifts of hopes to those who strive for it, drying up the corrupting lusts and passions of the soul.”

“But all those who call their lands by their own names and have wood and hay and stubble in their thoughts; such as these, since they are strangers to difficulties, become aliens from the kingdom of heaven. Had they however known that "tribulation perfects patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope makes not ashamed," they would have exercised themselves, after the example of Paul. He said, "I bring my body into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." They would easily have borne the afflictions that were brought on them to prove them from time to time, if the prophetic admonition had been listened to by them: "It is good for a person to take up your yoke in his youth. He shall sit alone and shall be silent, because he has taken your yoke on him. He will give his cheek to him who strikes him. He will be filled with reproaches. The Lord does not cast away forever. When he abases, he is gracious, according to the multitude of his tender mercies." For though all these things should proceed from the enemies, stripes, insults, reproaches, yet shall they avail nothing against the multitude of God's tender mercies; for we shall quickly recover from them since they are merely temporal, but God is always gracious, pouring out his tender mercies on those who please him. Therefore, my beloved, we should not look at these temporal things but fix our attention on those that are eternal. Though affliction may come, it will have an end; though insult and persecution, yet are they nothing to the hope that is set before us. For all present matters are trifling compared with those that are future; the sufferings of this present time not being worthy to be compared with the hope that is to come. For what can be compared with the kingdom? Or what is there in comparison with life eternal? Or what is all we could give here, to that which we shall inherit yonder? For we are "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Therefore it is not right, my beloved, to consider afflictions and persecutions but the hopes that are laid up for us because of persecutions.”

“For affliction is an unbroken bond, the increase of love, the occasion for reserve and piety. Hear the words of David, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn your statutes." And again another prophet, who says, "It is good for a person that he bears the yoke in his youth." And again, "Blessed is the one whom you chasten, O Lord." And another who says, "Despise not the chastening of the Lord." And "if you come near to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation. And Christ also said to his disciples, "In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer." And again, "You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice." And again, "Narrow and straitened is the way." Do you see how tribulation is everywhere lauded, everywhere assumed as needful for us? For if in the contests of the world, no one without this receives the crown unless he fortifies himself by work, by abstinence from the finer things of life, by living according to rule, by being vigilant, and innumerable other things, much more so here. For whom will you name as an instance? The king? Not even he lives a life free from care, but one burdened with much tribulation and anxiety. For look not to his diadem but to his sea of cares, by which the crown is produced for him. Nor look to his purple robe but to his soul, which is darker than that purple. His crown does not so closely bind his brow, as care does his soul. Nor look to the multitude of his spearmen but to the multitude of his disquietudes. For it is not possible to find a private house laden with so many cares as a king's palace. Violent deaths are each day expected, and a vision of blood is seen as they sit down to eat and drink. Nor can we say how often he is disturbed in the night and leaps up, haunted with visions. And all this in peace; but if war should overtake him, what could be more piteous than such a life as this! What evils has he from those that are his own, I mean, those who are under his dominion. In actuality, the pavement of a king's house is always full of blood, the blood of his own relations.… But as I said, life cannot be without pain. For if in the affairs of this world even he who is accounted most happy, if the king is burdened with so many misfortunes, what do you think must be true of private life?”

“Anchorites go from the monasteries into the deserts with nothing but bread and salt. Paul introduced this way of life; Anthony made it famous, and—to go farther back still—John the Baptist set the first example of it. The prophet Jeremiah describes one such in the words "It is good for a person that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sits alone and keeps silence, because he has borne it on him. He gives his cheek to him who strikes him; he is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever." The struggle of the anchorites and their life—in the flesh, yet not of the flesh—I will, if you wish, explain to you at some other time. I must now return to the subject of covetousness, which I left to speak of the monks. With them before your eyes you will despise not only gold and silver in general but earth itself and heaven. United to Christ, you will sing, "The Lord is my portion."”

“Divine mercy is here designated as to expectation of future events. First, the expectation itself, second, to the condition of such expectation. Regarding this expectation of future events three ideas are proposed. Third, the time of this expectation is examined: "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." That is, a fear of the Lord, and love for the Lord in his youth. Since, as the ardor of time is lessened, and youth is more easily led towards virtue. Like Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."”

“yoke--of the Lord's disciplinary teaching (Psa 90:12; Psa 119:71). CALVIN interprets it, The Lord's doctrine (Mat 11:29-30), which is to be received in a docile spirit. The earlier the better; for the old are full of prejudices (Pro 8:17; Ecc 12:1). Jeremiah himself received the yoke, both of doctrine and chastisement in his youth (Jer 1:6-7).”

“The condition of the person expecting is evaluated. First, regarding a height for contemplation: "Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him." Namely, that he be not impeded by turmoil within thought. Since, through such turmoil, "he had laid it on him." That is, for a consideration of divine favors. As Hosea the prophet concludes: "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her." (Hosea 2:14). Besides, there is displayed turmoil through a rejection of the person expecting, while such a one awaits. It says: "Let him sit alone in silence." Since, cast aside: "when he has laid it on him."”

“The fruit of true docility and patience. He does not fight against the yoke (Jer 31:18; Act 9:5), but accommodates himself to it. alone--The heathen applauded magnanimity, but they looked to display and the praise of men. The child of God, in the absence of any witness, "alone," silently submits to the will of God. borne it upon him--that is, because he is used to bearing it on him. Rather, "because He (the Lord, Lam 3:26) hath laid it on him" [VATABLUS].”

“(Job 42:6). The mouth in the dust is the attitude of suppliant and humble submission to God's dealings as righteous and loving in design (compare Ezr 9:6; Co1 14:25). if so be there may be hope--This does not express doubt as to whether GOD be willing to receive the penitent, but the penitent's doubt as to himself; he whispers to himself this consolation, "Perhaps there may be hope for me."”

“Third, the condition of the person expecting can refer to their patience in tribulation. "Let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults." That is, be prepared to give: "his cheek to the smiter." For the Apostle Matthew states: "but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:39). Also: "and be filled with insults." Namely, a person should delight, as if being spared some fault by his own action. For, St. Paul exclaims to the Romans: "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance." (Romans 5:3). And Isaiah 50:6 asserts: "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard."”

“That all sins may be forgiven him who has turned to God with his whole heart... "The Lord will not reject forever; and when he has made low, he will have pity according to the multitude of his mercy. Because he will not bring low from his whole heart, neither will he reject the children of humankind."”

“Is it not evident that the Lord Jesus is angry with us when we sin in order that he may convert us through fear of his indignation? His indignation, then, is not the carrying out of vengeance but rather the working out of forgiveness, for these are his words: "If you shall turn and lament, you shall be saved." He waits for our lamentations here, that is, in time, that he may spare us those that shall be eternal. He waits for our tears that he may pour forth his goodness. So in the Gospel, having pity on the tears of the widow, he raised her son. He waits for our conversion that he may himself restore us to grace, which would have continued with us had no fall overtaken us. But he is angry because we have by our sins incurred guilt in order that we may be humbled; we are humbled in order that we may be found worthy rather of pity than of punishment.Jeremiah, too, may certainly teach us this when he says, "For the Lord will not cast off forever; for after he has humbled, he will have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies, he who has not humbled from his whole heart or cast off the children of humankind." This passage we certainly find in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and from it, and from what follows, we note that the Lord humbles all the prisoners of the earth under his feet, in order that we may escape his judgment. But the one who does not bring down the sinner even to the earth with his whole heart is also the one who raises the poor even from the dust and the needy from the dunghill. For he does not wholeheartedly bring down those he intends to forgive. But if he does not wholeheartedly bring down every sinner, how much less does he wholeheartedly bring down someone who has not sinned with his whole heart! For as he said of the Jews, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me," so perhaps he may say of some of the fallen, "They denied me with their lips, but in their heart they are with me. It was pain that overcame them, not unfaithfulness that turned them aside." But some without cause refuse pardon to those whose faith the persecutor himself confessed up to the point of striving to overcome it by torture. They denied the Lord once but confess him daily; they denied him in word but confess him with groans, with cries and with tears; they confess him with willing words, not under compulsion. They yielded, indeed, for a moment to the temptation of the devil, but even the devil afterwards left those whom he was unable to claim as his own. He yielded to their weeping, he yielded to their repentance, and after making them his own lost those whom he attached when they belonged to Another.”

“The divine mercy regarding relaxation of punishments is displayed. First is considered an absolution from penalties: "For the Lord will not cast off forever." Since, the Lord does not forever punish. Because Psalm 94:14 claims: "For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage." And Isaiah 28:28 remarks: "Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not thresh it forever."”

“Second, divine mercy, in relation to divine piety as to reason, is considered. For, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according "to the abundance of his steadfast love," because, it from such a portion of divine piety (of God the Father) that one punishes in order to correct, then one comforts. For, the Book of Tobit 4:21 states: "Do not be afraid, my son, because we have become poor. You have great wealth, if you fear God and refrain from every sin and do what is pleasing in his sight."”

“Second, divine mercy, in relation to divine piety as to reason, is considered. For, though the Lord causes grief, he will have compassion according "to the abundance of his steadfast love," because, it from such a portion of divine piety (of God the Father) that one punishes in order to correct, then one comforts. For, the Book of Tobit 4:21 states: "Do not be afraid, my son, because we have become poor. You have great wealth, if you fear God and refrain from every sin and do what is pleasing in his sight." Therefore, out of love for humankind is said: "For he does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men." That is, he apportions from his divine love. Since Psalm 36:7 declares: "The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings."”

“When Celsus adds, "We must therefore believe that people are entrusted to certain beings who are the keepers of this prison house," our answer is that the souls of those who are called by Jeremiah "prisoners of the earth," when eager in the pursuit of virtue, are even in this life delivered from the bondage of evil; for Jesus declared this, as was foretold long before his advent by the prophet Isaiah, when he said that "the prisoners would go forth, and those who were in darkness would show themselves." And Jesus, as Isaiah also foretold of him, arose as "a light to them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death," so that we may therefore say, "Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us." If Celsus, and those who like him are opposed to us, had been able to sound the depths of the Gospel narratives, they would not have counseled us to put our confidence in those beings whom they call "the keepers of the prison house." It is written in the Gospel that a woman was bowed together and could not lift up herself. And when Jesus beheld her and perceived from what cause she was bowed together, he said, "Ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" And how many others are still bowed down and bound by Satan, who hinders them from looking up and who would have us to look down also! And no one can raise them up, except the Word that came by Jesus Christ and that inspired the prophets: And Jesus came to release those who were under the dominion of the devil; and, speaking of him, he said with that depth of meaning that characterized his words, "Now is the prince of this world judged." We are, then, indulging in no baseless calumnies against demons but are condemning their agency on earth as destructive to humankind, and we show that, under cover of oracles and bodily cures and such other means, they are seeking to separate from God the soul that has descended to this "body of humiliation, and those who feel this humiliation exclaim, "O wretched being that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"”

“Regarding patience in not offering resistance, a person is praised who "gives his cheek to him who strikes him and who is filled full with reproach." Of love to enemies it is said, "If your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." This also is quoted by the apostle. In the psalm, too, it is said, "I was a peacemaker among them who hated peace," and in many similar passages. In connection also with our imitating God in refraining from taking revenge and in loving even the wicked, there is a passage containing a full description of God in this character, for it is written, "To you alone ever belongs great strength, and who can withstand the power of your arm? For the whole world before you is as a little grain of the balance; yes, as a drop of the morning dew that falls down on the earth. But you have mercy on all, for you can do all things and wink at the sins of people, because of repentance. For you love all things that are and abhorred nothing that you have made; for never would you have made anything if you had hated it. And how could anything have endured, if it had not been your will? or been preserved, if not called by you? But you spare all; for they are yours, O Lord, you lover of souls. For your good Spirit is in all things; therefore chasten little by little those who offend. Warn them by reminding them of the ways in which they have offended, so that learning their wickedness, they may believe in you, O Lord." Christ exhorts us to imitate this long-suffering goodness of God, who makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust; that we may not be careful to revenge but may do good to them who hate us, and so may be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. From another passage in these ancient books we learn that, by not exacting the vengeance due to us, we obtain the remission of our own sins. By not forgiving the debts of others, we incur the danger of being refused forgiveness when we pray for the remission of our own debts: "He who revenges shall find vengeance from the Lord, and he will surely keep his sin in remembrance. Forgive your neighbor the hurt that he has done to you; so shall your sins also be forgiven when you pray. One person bears hatred against another, and does he seek pardon of the Lord? He shows no mercy to a person who is like himself; and does he ask forgiveness of his own sins? If he who is but flesh nourishes hatred and asks for favor from the Lord, who will entreat for the pardon of his sins?"”

“A contention from divine justice is here advanced. First is eliminated a tyrannical oppression from divine justice. As stated: "To crush under foot": like a tyrant, who externally opposes any judgment. Then: "all the prisoners of the earth." Namely, all those afflicted. To which Psalm 69:33 can refer: "For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds." Second, perversity of a judge is excluded: "to turn aside the right of a man in the presence of the Most High." That is, from rectitude. Add to Verse 36: "the Lord does not approve." And, Job 34:12: "Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice." Third, a perverse intention within divine justice is also excluded. Like to those judges, under a guise of justice, intend to oppress some persons. As said: "To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve." That is, from judgment: "the Lord does not approve." As Proverbs 4:27 admonishes: "Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil."”

“This triplet has an infinitive in the beginning of each verse, the governing finite verb being in the end of Lam 3:36, "the Lord approveth not," which is to be repeated in each verse. Jeremiah here anticipates and answers the objections which the Jews might start, that it was by His connivance they were "crushed under the feet" of those who "turned aside the right of a man." God approves (literally, "seeth," Hab 1:13; so "behold," "look on," that is, look on with approval) not of such unrighteous acts; and so the Jews may look for deliverance and the punishment of their foes.”

“A contention from divine justice is here advanced. First is eliminated a tyrannical oppression from divine justice. As stated: "To crush under foot": like a tyrant, who externally opposes any judgment. Then: "all the prisoners of the earth." Namely, all those afflicted. To which Psalm 69:33 can refer: "For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds." Second, perversity of a judge is excluded: "to turn aside the right of a man in the presence of the Most High." That is, from rectitude. Add to Verse 36: "the Lord does not approve." And, Job 34:12: "Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice." Third, a perverse intention within divine justice is also excluded. Like to those judges, under a guise of justice, intend to oppress some persons. As said: "To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve." That is, from judgment: "the Lord does not approve." As Proverbs 4:27 admonishes: "Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil."”

“A contention from divine justice is here advanced. First is eliminated a tyrannical oppression from divine justice. As stated: "To crush under foot": like a tyrant, who externally opposes any judgment. Then: "all the prisoners of the earth." Namely, all those afflicted. To which Psalm 69:33 can refer: "For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds." Second, perversity of a judge is excluded: "to turn aside the right of a man in the presence of the Most High." That is, from rectitude. Add to Verse 36: "the Lord does not approve." And, Job 34:12: "Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice." Third, a perverse intention within divine justice is also excluded. Like to those judges, under a guise of justice, intend to oppress some persons. As said: "To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve." That is, from judgment: "the Lord does not approve." As Proverbs 4:27 admonishes: "Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil."”

“Here arguments are proposed from divine powers by which everything is governed and provided for. First, such is applied against those persons who derogate divine providence, faithless through blasphemy. "Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?" Within this context, heresy is excluded from those who contend God's providence extends itself to universal ideas, and incorporeal things, as celestial bodies. And even up to human kind, due to a conformity of human nature to God, (the Creator). As Rabbi Maimonides asserts: "here and now, each and all particulars the Lord God does not actually acknowledge."”

“"Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come?" Namely from good results prosperity, from bad results adversity. For, in such an idea is excluded the error of those persons who claim everything happens from chance, like Cicero, the Roman philosopher. However, the apostle and evangelist John 1:3 asserts: "All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that was made." And the prophet Isaiah 45:7 asserts the Lord God: "I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the Lord, who do all these things."”

“Second, arguments are advanced regarding divine power against persons who deride the above ideas, through impatience within murmurings. "Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?" Namely, as to his known sins, from which he now suffers. For, Wisdom 1:11 declares: "Beware then of useless murmuring, and keep your tongue from slander."”

“living--and so having a time yet given him by God for repentance. If sin were punished as it deserves, life itself would be forfeited by the sinner. "Complaining" (murmuring) ill becomes him who enjoys such a favor as life (Pro 19:3). for the punishment of his sins--Instead of blaming God for his sufferings, he ought to recognize in them God's righteousness and the just rewards of his own sin.”

“Faith being restored, one now turns to divine mercy. First, a preparation for prayer is considered, second, the prayer itself. On preparation for prayer, a place is afforded through change of life. "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord." That is, by searching out our past sins. Again: "Let us test and examine our ways." Namely, as to the Lord God, in a desire of our heart seeking divine aid. Then, accepting such one can return to the Lord God by doing good deeds. Since, Jeremiah claims: "know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God" (Jeremiah 2:19).”

“Confession of sins, and complaint against the cruelty of enemies, as well as over the deep misery into which all the people have sunk. Lam 3:40-42. The acknowledgment of guilt implies to prayer, to which also there is a summons in Lam 3:40, Lam 3:41. The transitional idea is not, "Instead of grumbling in a sinful spirit, let us rather examine our conduct" (Thenius); for the summons to examine one's conduct is thereby placed in contrast with Lam 3:39, and the thought, "let every one mourn over his own sins," transformed into a prohibition of sinful complaint. The real transition link is given by Rosenmller: quum mala nostra a peccatis nostris oriantur, culpas nostras et scrutemur et corrigamus. The searching of our ways, i.e., of our conduct, if it be entered on in an earnest spirit, must end in a return to the Lord, from whom we have departed. It is self-evident that עד יהוה does not stand for אל יי, but means as far as (even to) Jahveh, and indicates thorough conversion - no standing half-way. The lifting up of the heart to the hands, also, - not merely of the hands to God, - expresses earnest prayer, that comes from the heart. אל־כּפּים, to the hands (that are raised towards heaven). "To God in heaven," where His almighty throne is placed (Psa 2:4), that He may look down from thence (Lam 3:59) and send help. With Lam 3:42 begins the prayer, as is shown by the direct address to God in the second member. There is no need, however, on this account, for supplying לאמר before the first member; the command to pray is immediately followed by prayer, beginning with the confession of sins, and the recognition of God's chastisement; cf. Psa 106:6; Dan 9:5. נחנוּ is contrasted with אתּה. "Thou hast not pardoned," because Thy justice must inflict punishment.”

“One [Elijah] whose "heart" was habitually found "lifted up" rather than fattened up, who in forty days and as many nights maintained a fast above the power of human nature while spiritual faith supplied strength (to his body), both saw with his eyes God's glory, and heard with his ears God's voice and understood with his heart God's law, while he taught him even then (by experience) that humankind lives not on bread alone but on every word of God; in that the people, though fatter than he, could not constantly contemplate even Moses, fed as he had been on God, or his leanness, sated as it had been with God's glory! Deservedly, therefore, even while in the flesh, did the Lord show himself to him, the colleague of his own fasts, no less than to Elijah. For Elijah had, by this fact primarily, that he had imprecated a famine, already sufficiently devoted himself to fasts: "The Lord lives," he said, "before whom I am standing in his sight, if there shall be dew in these years and rain shower." Subsequently, fleeing from threatening Jezebel, after one single meal of food and drink, which he had found on being awakened by an angel, he too, in a space of forty days and nights, his belly empty, his mouth dry, arrived at Mount Horeb; where, when he had made a cave his inn, with how familiar a meeting with God was he received! "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Much more friendly was this voice than, "Adam, where are you?" For the latter voice was uttering a threat to a fed man, the former soothing a fasting one. Such is the prerogative of circumscribed food, that it makes God tent fellow with a man—peer, in truth, with peer! For if the eternal God will not hunger, as he testifies through Isaiah, this will be the time for a person to be made equal with God, when he lives without food.”

“"We have transgressed and rebelled, and thou hast not forgiven." Here prayer begins, first accenting benevolence, second, the fault. Here is taken into account a benevolence of their own person and people, setting forth their harassments. First, afflictions of people are considered, second compassion. Regarding afflictions of people are two further ideas. First, is conferred their fault, lest following punishment, a discretion of a judge is directed. "We have transgressed and rebelled, and thou hast not forgiven." Namely, by sinning against our neighbor. Also: "and rebelled": by sinning against God. And then: "and thou hast not forgiven." Since, you, Lord God, are inflexible towards our prayers. Thus, Jeremiah says: "As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I do not hear you" (Jeremiah 7:16). Also, the apostle John points out: "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, God will listen to him" (John 9:31).”

“Second, regarding the people's afflictions, their sins are exposed. "Thou hast wrapped thyself with anger and pursued us, slaying without pity." That is, first by diverse tribulations. And finally: "slaying without pity." For, Proverbs 6:34 claims: "For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge."”

“God has not pardoned, but positively punished, the people for their misdeeds. "Thou hast covered with anger," Lam 3:43, corresponds to "Thou hast covered with a cloud," Lam 3:44; hence "Thou hast covered" is plainly used both times in the same meaning, in spite of the fact that לך is wanting in Lam 3:43. סכך means to "cover," here to "make a cover." "Thou didst make a cover with anger," i.e., Thou didst hide Thyself in wrath; there is no necessity for taking סכך as in itself reflexive. This mode of viewing it agrees also with what follows. The objection of J. D. Michaelis, qui se obtegit non persequitur alios, ut statim additur, which Bttcher and Thenius have repeated, does not hold good in every respect, but chiefly applies to material covering. And the explanation of Thenius, "Thou hast covered us with wrath, and persecuted us," is shown to be wrong by the fact that סכך signifies to cover for protection, concealment, etc., but not to cover in the sense of heaping upon, pouring upon (as Luther translates it); nor, again, can the word be taken here in a sense different from that assigned to it in Lam 3:44. "The covering of wrath, which the Lord draws around Him, conceals under it the lightnings of His wrath, which are spoken of immediately afterwards" (Ngelsbach). The anger vents itself in the persecution of the people, in killing them unsparingly. For, that these two are connected, is shown not merely in Lam 3:66, but still more plainly by the threatening in Jer 29:18 : "I will pursue them with sword, and famine, and pestilence, and give them for maltreatment to all the kingdoms of the earth." On "Thou hast slain, Thou hast not spared," cf. Lam 2:21. In Lam 3:44, לך is further appended to סכּותה: "Thou makest a cover with clouds for Thyself," round about Thee, so that no prayer can penetrate to Thee; cf. Psa 55:2. These words form the expression of the painful conclusion drawn by God's people from their experience, that God answered no cry for help that came to Him, i.e., granted no help. Israel was thereby given up, in a defenceless state, to the foe, so that they could treat them like dirt and abuse them. סחי (from סחה, Eze 26:4), found only here as a noun, signifies "sweepings;" and מאוס is a noun, "disesteem, aversion." The words of Lam 3:45, indeed, imply the dispersion of Israel among the nations, but are not to be limited to the maltreatment of the Jews in exile; moreover, they rather apply to the conduct of their foes when Judah was conquered and Jerusalem destroyed. Such treatment, especially the rejection, is further depicted in Lam 3:46. The verse is almost a verbatim repetition of Lam 2:16, and is quite in the style of Jeremiah as regards the reproduction of particular thoughts; while Thenius, from the repetition, is inclined to infer that chs. 2 and 3 had different authors: cf. Gerlach on the other side. The very next verse might have been sufficient to keep Thenius from such a precipitate conclusion, inasmuch as it contains expressions and figures that are still more clearly peculiar to Jeremiah. On פּחד ופחת, cf. Jer 48:43; השׁבר is also one of the favourite expressions of the prophet. hashee't is certainly ἅπ. λεγ., but reminds one of בּני , Num 24:17, for which in Jer 48:45 there stands בּני שׁאון. It comes from שׁאה, to make a noise, roar, fall into ruins with a loud noise, i.e., be laid waste (cf. Isa 6:11); and, as Raschi has already observed, it has the same meaning as שׁאיּה, "devastation," Isa 24:12. It is incorrect to derive the word from the Hiphil of נשׁא (J. D. Michaelis and Ewald), according to which it ought to mean "disappointment," for the ה does not form an essential portion of the word, but is the article, as והשׁבר shows. Still more erroneous are the renderings ἔπαρσις (lxx, from נשׂא) and vaticinatio (Jerome, who has confounded השּׁאת with משּׂא). Over this terrible calamity, rivers of tears must be shed, until the Lord looks down from heaven on it, Lam 3:48-51. The prophet once more utters this complaint in the first person, because he who has risked his life in his endeavour to keep the people in the service of God must feel the deepest sympathy for them in their misfortunes. "Rivers of water" is stronger than "water," Lam 1:16, and "tears like a stream," Lam 2:18; but the mode of expression is in the main like that in those passages, and used again in Psa 119:136, but in a different connection. The second member of the verse is the same as in Lam 2:11.”

“So: "Thou hast wrapped thyself with anger and pursued us." That is, first by diverse tribulations. And finally: "slaying without pity." For, Proverbs 6:34 claims: "For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge." Second, is a refusal from prayer of a person sinning: "Thou hast wrapped thyself with a cloud." Namely, regarding such sins displaying faults against prayer. Thus, Isaiah 59:2 claims: "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God." Third, the dispersion of persons is exposed: "Thou hast made us offscouring and refuse among the peoples." Namely, like eradicating persons from a firm protection. So, Wisdom 4:4 declares: "and by the violence of the winds they will be uprooted."”

“Benevolence on the enemy's part, excitement against indications of evil inflicted by the enemy, are here viewed. First is noticed the preparation for capturing, second, the captivity itself. To the idea, preparation for capturing, three more references are made. First is the enemies' preparation: "All our enemies rail against us." That is, as if to devour us. So Psalm 22:13 says: "They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion." Second, there is a description of prophets whom they ought to be protected against their enemies: "Panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction." That is, sheer panic, as cause of fear before captivity. And, "pitfall": within such captivity. Then: "devastation": after the captivity and "destruction": from false prophets. For Isaiah 24:17 says: "Terror, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth!" Third, compassion is considered: "My eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people." Namely, as one imploring, due to singular miseries. Thus Psalm 119:136 expresses: "My eyes shed streams of tears, because men do not keep thy law."”

“Benevolence on the enemy's part, excitement against indications of evil inflicted by the enemy, are here viewed. First is noticed the preparation for capturing, second, the captivity itself. To the idea, preparation for capturing, three more references are made. First is the enemies' preparation: "All our enemies rail against us." That is, as if to devour us. So Psalm 22:13 says: "They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion." Second, there is a description of prophets whom they ought to be protected against their enemies: "Panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction." That is, sheer panic, as cause of fear before captivity. And, "pitfall": within such captivity. Then: "devastation": after the captivity and "destruction": from false prophets. For Isaiah 24:17 says: "Terror, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth!" Third, compassion is considered: "My eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people." Namely, as one imploring, due to singular miseries. Thus Psalm 119:136 expresses: "My eyes shed streams of tears, because men do not keep thy law."”

“Prophecy. Many would read, vastatio. Hebrew, “ruin.” Septuagint, “taking away.” (Calmet) — Protestants, “Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.” The prophets were continually in danger. (Haydock) — The preaching of false prophets has brought these evils upon the people. (Worthington)”

“Differently to be admonished are those who deplore sins of deed, and those who deplore sins of thought. For those who deplore sins of deed are to be admonished that perfected lamentations should wash out consummated evils, lest they be bound by a greater debt of perpetrated deed than they pay in tears of satisfaction for it. For it is written, "He hath given us drink in tears by measure": which means that each person's soul should in its penitence drink the tears of compunction to such extent as it remembers itself to have been dried up from God through sins. They are to be admonished to bring back their past offences incessantly before their eyes, and so to live that these may not have to be viewed by the strict judge. Hence David, when he prayed, saying, "Turn away thine eyes from my sins," had said also a little before, "My fault is ever before me"; as if to say, I beseech thee not to regard my sin, since I myself cease not to regard it. Whence also the Lord says through the prophet, "And I will not be mindful of thy sins, but be thou mindful of them." They are to be admonished to consider singly all their past offences, and, in bewailing the defilements of their former wandering one by one, to cleanse at the same time even their whole selves with tears. Whence it is well said through Jeremiah, when the several transgressions of Judaea were being considered, "Mine eye hath shed divisions of waters." For indeed we shed divided waters from our eyes, when to our several sins we give separate tears. For the mind does not sorrow at one and the same time alike for all things; but, while it is more sharply touched by memory now of this fault and now of that, being moved concerning all in each, it is purged at once from all.”

“Benevolence on the enemy's part, excitement against indications of evil inflicted by the enemy, are here viewed. First is noticed the preparation for capturing, second, the captivity itself. To the idea, preparation for capturing, three more references are made. First is the enemies' preparation: "All our enemies rail against us." That is, as if to devour us. So Psalm 22:13 says: "They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion." Second, there is a description of prophets whom they ought to be protected against their enemies: "Panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction." That is, sheer panic, as cause of fear before captivity. And, "pitfall": within such captivity. Then: "devastation": after the captivity and "destruction": from false prophets. For Isaiah 24:17 says: "Terror, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth!" Third, compassion is considered: "My eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people." Namely, as one imploring, due to singular miseries. Thus Psalm 119:136 expresses: "My eyes shed streams of tears, because men do not keep thy law."”

“The compassion of the prophet is here exposed. First is the exterior lamentation: "My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite." Namely, crying: "without ceasing": from tears: "without respite": from tribulation for the people. For Jeremiah 9:18-19 asserts: "And our eyelids gush with water. For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion."”

“נגּר means to be poured out, empty self; cf. Sa2 14:14; Mic 1:4. "And is not silent" = and rests not, i.e., incessantly; cf. Jer 14:17. מאין הפגות does not mean, eo quod non sint intermissiones miseriarum vel fletus (C. B. Michaelis and Rosenmller, following the Chaldee), but "so that there is no intermission or drying up." As to הפגות, which means the same as פּוּגה, see on Lam 2:18. "Until the Lord look down from heaven and examine," in order to put an end to the distress, or to take compassion on His people. On ישׁקיף, cf. Psa 14:2; Psa 102:20.”

“The compassion of the prophet is here exposed. First is the exterior lamentation: "My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite." Namely, crying: "without ceasing,": from tears: "without respite": from tribulation for the people. For Jeremiah 9:18-19 asserts: "And our eyelids gush with water. For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion." There is then a final lamentation: "Until the Lord of heaven looks down and sees." Namely, with his eyes of divine mercy. Since Psalm 102:19 says: "That he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth."”

“Second is the compassion of the prophet, due to the sting from interior grief: "My eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the maidens of my city." That is: "my eyes," seeing the depredation upon the earth, "cause me grief." That is, spoiling the earth from delight. Or, lamenting exteriorly, the prophet gives himself up to a total grief within his own heart.”

“Lam 3:51, taken literally, runs thus: "Mine eye does evil to my soul" (עולל with ל signifies to inflict an injury on one, cause suffering, as in Lam 1:2, Lam 1:22; Lam 2:20), i.e., it causes pain to the soul, as the Chaldee has already paraphrased it. The expression does not merely signify "causes me grief" (Thenius, Gerlach); but the eye, weakened through incessant weeping, causes pain to the soul, inasmuch as the pain in the eye increases the pain in the soul, i.e., heightens the pain of the soul through the superaddition of physical pain (Ngelsbach). Ewald has quite missed the meaning of the verse in his translation, "Tears assail my soul," and in his explanatory remark that עוללה is used in a bad sense, like the Latin afficit; for, if עולל had this meaning, עיני could not stand for tears, because it is not the tears, but only the eyes weakened by weeping, that affect the soul with pain. Ewald is also wrong in seeking, with Grotius, to understand "the daughters of my city" as signifying the country towns, and to explain the phrase by referring to Lam 2:22. For, apart from the consideration that the appeal to Lam 2:22 rests on a false conception of that passage, the meaning attributed to the present verse is shown to be untenable by the very fact that the expression "daughters of my city" is never used for the daughter-towns of Jerusalem; and such a designation, however possible it might be in itself, would yet be quite incomprehensible in this present connection, where there is no other subject of lamentation, either before or after, than Jerusalem in its ruined condition, and the remnant of its inhabitants (Gerlach). "The daughters of my city" are the daughters of Jerusalem, the female portion of the inhabitants of the city before and after its destruction. Nor will what is added, "because of the daughters of my city," seem strange, if we consider that, even in Lam 1:4, Lam 1:18 and Lam 2:20-21, the fate and the wretched condition of the virgins of the city are mentioned as peculiarly deplorable, and that, in fact, the defenceless virgins were most to be pitied when the city fell; cf. Lam 5:11. But the objection of Bttcher and Thenius, that מכּל בּנות forms a harsh construction, whether we view it grammatically or in the light of the circumstances, inasmuch as מן, after "mine eye pains me," is unsuitable, whether taken in a causal or a comparative meaning: - this objection, certainly, has some truth in its favour, and tells against any attempt to take the words as indicating a comparison. but there is nothing against the causal meaning, if "mine eyes causes pain to my soul" merely signifies "my eye pains me," because the pain of the eye is the result of the profuse weeping. If those words, however, possess the meaning we have given above (the pain in the eyes increases the smart in the soul), then there is nothing strange at all in the thought, "The evil condition of the daughters of my city is so deplorable, that mine eyes fail through weeping, and the sorrow of my soul is thereby intensified." Gerlach has already refuted, though more fully than was necessary, the conjecture of Bttcher, that בּנות should be changed into בּכּות (from all the weeping of my city).”

“The affliction into which people fall is now evaluated. First, the people's captivity itself is reckoned: "I have been hunted like a bird." That is, as if by cunning enemies, operating with powers. Then, enemies (the Chaldeans) are: "without cause." For, I (Jeremiah) could, in no manner, harm them, since they, in no way approach me. So, Isaiah 52:4 says: "and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing." Elsewhere, Jeremiah declares: "and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill" (Jeremiah 16:16).”

“His pain and sorrow over the sad condition of the people recall to his memory the persecutions and sufferings which the godly have endured. The figure, "They who without cause are mine enemies have hunted me like a bird," is an imitation of Psa 11:1. איבי חנּם reminds one of שׂנאי , Psa 35:19 and Psa 69:5. But the prophet prefers איבי to שׂנאי, lest any one should restrict the words to persecutions which arose out of personal hatred.”

“The affliction into which people fall is now evaluated. First, the people's captivity itself is reckoned: "I have been hunted like a bird." That is, as if by cunning enemies, operating with powers. Second, the imprisonment of the captives is explained: "They flung me alive into the pit." That is, my life into a prison of captivity. For, Psalm 88:6 states: "Thou hast put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep."”

“צמתוּ is here used transitively in Kal, as the Piel is elsewhere, Psa 119:139, and the Pilpel, Psa 88:17. צמתוּ בבּור, "they were destroying (cutting off) my life down into the pit," is a pregnant construction, and must be understood de conatu: "they sought to destroy my life when they hurled me down into the pit, and cast stones on me," i.e., not "they covered the pit with a stone" (Pareau, De Wette, Neumann). The verb ידה construed with בּ does not take this meaning, for ידה merely signifies to cast, e.g., lots (Jos 4:3, etc.), arrows (Jer 50:14), or to throw down = destroy, annihilate, Zac 2:4; and בּי does not mean "in the pit in which I was," but "upon (or against) me." The sing. אבן is to be understood in accordance with the expression רגם אבן, to cast stones = stone (Kg1 12:18; Lev 20:2, Lev 20:27). As to ויּדּוּ for ויידּוּ, see on ויּגּה in Lam 3:33. "Waters flowed over my head" is a figurative expression, denoting such misery and distress as endanger life; cf. Psa 59:2-3, Psa 59:15., Psa 124:4., Psa 42:8. 'I said (thought), I am cut off (from God's eyes or hand)," Psa 31:23; Psa 88:6, is a reminiscence from these Psalms, and does not essentially differ from "cut off out of the land of the living," Isa 43:8. For, that we must thereby think of death, or sinking down into Sheol, is shown by מבּור תּחתּיּות, Lam 3:55. The complaint in these verses (52-54) is regarded by some expositors as a description of the personal sufferings of Jeremiah; and the casting into the pit is referred to the incident mentioned in Jer 38:6. Such is the view, for instance, taken by Vaihinger and Ngelsbach, who point for proof to these considerations especially: (1) That the Chaldeans certainly could not, without good cause (Lam 3:53), be understood as the "enemies;" (2) that Jeremiah could not represent the people, speaking as if they were righteous and innocent; and (3) that the writer already speaks of his deliverance from their power, and contents himself with merely calling down on them the vengeance of God (Lam 3:55-66). But not one of these reasons is decisive. For, in the first place, the contents of Lam 3:52 do not harmonize with the known hostility which Jeremiah had to endure from his personal enemies. That is to say, there is nothing mentioned or known of his enemies having stoned him, or having covered him over with a stone, after they had cast him into the miry pit (Jer 38:6.), The figurative character of the whole account thus shows itself in the very fact that the separate portions of it are taken from reminiscences of passages in the Psalms, whose figurative character is universally acknowledged. Moreover, in the expression איבי חנּם, even when we understand thereby the Chaldeans, it is not at all implied that he who complains of these enemies considers himself righteous and innocent, but simply that he has not given them any good ground for their hostile conduct towards him. And the assertion, that the writer is already speaking of his deliverance from their power, rests on the erroneous notion that, in Lam 3:55-66, he is treating of past events; whereas, the interchange of the perfects with imperatives of itself shows that the deliverance of which he there speaks is not an accomplished or bygone fact, but rather the object of that assured faith which contemplates the non-existent as existent. Lastly, the contrast between personal suffering ad the suffering of the people, on which the whole reasoning rests, is quite beside the mark. Moreover, if we take the lamentations to be merely symbolical, then the sufferings and persecutions of which the prophet here complains are not those of the people generally, but of the godly Israelites, on whom they were inflicted when the kingdom was destroyed, not merely by the Chaldeans, but also by their godless fellow-countrymen. Hence we cannot, of course, say that Jeremiah here speaks from personal experience; however, he complains not merely of the persecutions that befall him personally, but also of the sufferings that had come on him and all godly ones. The same remark applies to the conclusion of this lamentation, - the prayer, Lam 3:55-66, in which he entreats the Lord for deliverance, and in the spirit of faith views this deliverance as already accomplished.”

“Third, the very imprisonment of those imprisoned is exposed: "Water closed over my head; I said, 'I am lost'." Namely, the waters of tribulations are multiplied. Again: "I said, 'I am lost'." That is, desperately and impatiently. As the prophet Jonah reports: "All thy waves and thy billows passed over me" (Jonah 2:3).”

“The benevolence, on the part of the person, the judge, is displayed here. First is shown his mercy towards miserable people, second, the justice of the judge. Regarding mercy toward miserable people, three more ideas are set forth. First is a prayer for such miserable persons: "I called on thy name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit." Namely, like one existing with difficulties. And: "from the depths of the pit." Just like the greatest tribulation in Egypt, as recorded in the Book of Judges. Also, as Sirach 51:10 declares: "I appealed to the Lord, the Father of my Lord, not to forsake me in the days of affliction."”

“Prayer for deliverance, and confident trust in its realization. Lam 3:55. "Out of the lowest pit I call, O Lord, on Thy name;" cf. Psa 88:7, Psa 88:14; Psa 130:1. The perfect קראתי is not a preterite, (Note: The perfects are so viewed by Ngelsbach, who also thinks that the speaker, in Lam 3:55-58, thanks the Lord for deliverance from the pit, and in Lam 3:55 reminds the Lord of the prayer he has addressed to Him out of the pit. But could he possibly think that the Lord had forgotten this? What, we should like to know, would be the use of this reminder, even if 'תּעלם וגו, Lam 3:56, could be taken as the words of address to the Lord? For we can discover no thanksgiving in Lam 3:55-58. This whole mode of viewing the passage breaks down before Lam 3:59 : "Thou hast seen mine oppression; judge me!" For, if the perfects in Lam 3:55-58 are preterites, then also ראיתה, Lam 3:59, can only be a preterite; and the prophet can only be speaking of injustice that has been done him previously: hence he cannot add thereto the request, "Judge me," inasmuch as the Lord (according to Ngelsbach) has already judged him by delivering him from the pit. Moreover, it is quite arbitrary to understand the perfects in Lam 3:59 and Lam 3:62 as referring to what has been done and is still being done to the speaker by his enemies, if it be agreed that the perfects in Lam 3:55-58 refer only to past events.) but expresses what has already happened, and still happens. This is evident from the fact that the corresponding perfect, שׁמעתּ, Lam 3:56, is continued by the optative אל־תּעלם. בּור תּחתּיּות is taken from Psa 88:7 : "pit of the lower regions of the earth,"-the תּחתּיּות ארץ, Psa 63:10; Eze 32:18, Eze 32:24, i.e., Sheol, essentially the same with מהשׁכּים, Lam 3:6, which is thereby connected with Psa 88:7, - the dark regions of the depth, whose open mouth is the grave for every one (see Delitzsch on Psalms, l.c.), hence the symbol of mortal danger. Lam 3:56-66 "Thou hast heard my voice" expresses the full assurance of faith from which the request comes: "Cover not Thine ear from my sighing." רוחה, "breathing out again;" in Eze 8:11, mitigation of oppression, yet not here respiratio, relaxatio (C. B. Michaelis, Rosenmller, etc.), - since the asyndetic לשׁועתי does not accord with such an interpretation, - but a relieving of oneself by means of deeply-drawn sighs, as in Job 32:20; hence "sighing," as Luther has already rendered it, following the Vulgate: ne avertas aurem tuum a singultu meo (Thenius, Gerlach, etc.). - In Lam 3:57 and Lam 3:58, the writer still more fully expresses his confidence that the Lord will accept him. "Thou art near on the day when I call on Thee" is a sentence found in Psa 145:18, and uttered as the experience of all believers. "Thou sayest, Fear not," i.e., Thou assurest me of Thine assistance; cf. Jer 1:8, Jer 1:17, etc. "Thou dost conduct the causes (Ger. Streitsachen) of my soul" (ריבי נפשׁי), i.e., not merely "my lawsuits," but causas quae vitam et salutem meam concernunt (C. B. Michaelis). This is shown by the parallel member, "Thou redeemest my life," sc. from the destruction which threatens it; cf. Lam 3:53., Psa 103:4. With this is connected the request in Lam 3:59, "Thou dost certainly see my oppression" (עוּתה from עוּת, to bend, oppress), the oppression which I suffer; "judge my cause," i.e., help me in my cause, cf. Jer 5:28. The suppliant bases this request, Lam 3:60-62, on the recollection that God, as the Omniscient One, knows the plans and intentions of his opponents. "Thou seest all their plans for revenge." נקמה is not here the outcome of revenge, but the thought of revenge cherished in the heart; it does not, however, mean desire of revenge, or revengeful disposition, but simply the thinking and meditating on revenge, which certainly has the spirit of revenge for its basis, but is not identical with this. Their thoughts are the plans of vengeance. ,ליdat. incomm., "to my hurt;" the reading עלי of some codices is simply a correction after Lam 3:61. This revenge they express in reproaches and invectives. שׂפתי, "lips," for utterances of the lips; and קמי as in Psa 18:40, Psa 18:49 = קמים עלי, Psa 4:3, etc. שׂפתי קמי corresponds to חרפּתם, and חגיונם to מחשׁבתם, Lam 3:61; and the whole of Lam 3:62 still depends on "Thou hearest," without any need for supplying היוּ, as Rosenmller does. Thenius and Ngelsbach would combine Lam 3:62 with 63, and make the former dependent on הבּיטה; but this is unsuitable, nor do they consider that utterances or words are not seen (הבּיט), but heard (שׁמע). With this proposed combination there falls to the ground the further remark of Thenius, that "by lips, devising, sitting, rising up, are meant the conversation and consultation of the enemies one with another." Sitting and rising up have nothing in common with speaking about any subject, but merely form a circumlocution for action generally: cf. Psa 139:2; Deu 6:7; Deu 11:19; Isa 37:28. The form מנגּינה for נגינה occurs nowhere else: Ewald considers it a form that has been lengthened for the purpose of designating a mocking song - "Sing-song." This supposition has at least more to recommend it than the ingenious but worthless idea of Bttcher, that מנגּינה is contracted from מה־נגינה, "what a stringed instrument am I to them;" but it also is improbable. מנגּינה is the subject of the נגינה, as words formed with מ often express merely the subject of the idea contained in a noun or verb; cf. Ewald, 160, b, 3. After this statement of the hostile treatment which the speaker has to suffer, there follows the renewed and further extended request that God may reward the foes according to their deeds. תּשׁיב, "Thou shalt return," is a confident expression of the request that God would do this; hence the optative תּתּן follows in Lam 3:65. In Lam 3:64 is condensed the substance of what is contained in Psa 28:4. מגנּת לב, covering (veil) of the heart, - an expression analogous to the κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν, Co2 3:15, - is not obduration, or hardening, but blinding of the heart, which casts into destruction; but it can scarcely signify "madness" (Delitzsch, Bibl. Psychology, Clark's translation), since the Arabic majannat, insania, furor, has probably received this meaning from jinn, genius, daemon; cf. Gesenius, Thes. s. v., and Rosenmller, ad h. l. "Thy curse to them!" is not to be viewed as dependent on "give," but to be explained in accordance with Ps. 3:9, "Thy blessing [be] upon Thy people!" - thus, "May Thy curse be their portion!" The curse of God is followed by destruction. "Destroy them from under Jahveh's heaven!" i.e., not merely ut non sint amplius sub caelis (C. B. Michaelis), because יהוה is not considered in this latter rendering. The heaven of Jahveh is the whole world, over which Jahveh's authority extends; the meaning therefore is, "Exterminate them wholly from the sphere of Thy dominion in the world," or, Thy kingdom.”

“Regarding mercy toward miserable people, three more ideas are set forth. First is a prayer for such miserable persons: "I called on thy name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit." Namely, like one existing with difficulties. Second, the mercy from prayer is then referred to: "Thou didst hear my plea, 'Do not close thine ear to my cry for help'."”

“The benevolence, on the part of the person, the judge, is displayed here. First is shown his mercy towards miserable people, second, the justice of the judge. Regarding mercy toward miserable people, three more ideas are set forth. First is a prayer for such miserable persons: "I called on thy name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit." Namely, like one existing with difficulties. And: "from the depths of the pit". Just like the greatest tribulation in Egypt, as recorded in the Book of Judges. Also, as Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 51:10 declares: "I appealed to the Lord, the Father of my Lord, not to forsake me in the days of affliction." Second, the mercy from prayer is then referred to: "Thou didst hear my plea, 'Do not close thine ear to my cry for help'." Third, the consolation from the prayer heard is remembered: "Thou didst come near when I called on thee; thou didst say, 'Do not fear'." Namely, confirming me (Jeremiah) by thy divine aid (O Lord God), then, as now. For Job 17:3 declares: "Lay down a pledge for me with thyself; who is there that will give surety for me?"”

“The benevolence of the divine judge is here accounted for. Besides, an accusation regarding the adversary is proposed. First is an accusation against the evil within the deed. "Thou hast seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; judge thou my cause." This states as if: they are unable to deny what is known to thee, (O Lord God). For, Lamentations 1:22 makes known: "Let all their evil doing come before thee; and deal with them as thou hast dealt with me."”

“Second, an accusation, as to the fury in the enemy's heart is underscored: "Thou hast seen all their vengeance, all their devices against me." For Jeremiah 18:18 reports: "Then they said 'Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet.'"”

“Third, is an accusation regarding sin from their mouth. The people here are accused of their sins. First, regarding the affliction in their shame: "Thou hast heard their taunts, O Lord, all their devices against me." Which declares, as if: there is no need for proof. For the prophet Daniel 9:16 asserts: "And for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us."”

“The people here are accused of their sins. First, regarding the affliction in their shame: "Thou hast heard their taunts, O Lord, all their devices against me." Which declares, as if: there is no need for proof. For the prophet Daniel 9:16 asserts: "And for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us." Second, such is insofar as to threats: "The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long." As Psalm 38:12 says: "those who seek my hurt speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all the day long."”

“The people here are accused of their sins. First, regarding the affliction in their shame: "Thou hast heard their taunts, O Lord, all their devices against me." Which declares, as if: there is no need for proof. For the prophet Daniel 9:16 asserts: "And for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us." Second, such is insofar as to threats: "The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long." As Psalm 38:12 says: "those who seek my hurt speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all the day long." Third, (their shame) is, insofar as to derision, and insult: "Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the burden of their songs." For, they sit in council, in order to destroy me by: "their rising." And: "I am the burden of their songs." Since, they compose derisive songs against me. All the above notions can be understood in the person of the prophet, or the people themselves. For, Job 30:9 declares: "And now I have become their song, I am a byword to them." Also, Psalm 69:12: "and the drunkards make songs about me."”

“Whence Jeremiah also says: "You will render to them their recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands; You will give them as a shield for the heart Your labor." For lest the darts of preaching should penetrate their hearts, since they disdained the labor of His passion, they held that same labor of His as if it were a shield, so that by the very fact that they saw Him labor even unto death, they would not permit His words to pass through to them.”

“Vindication from adversaries is here sought. This is due to a security from prayers heard, and vindication considered. Such is also from their foretelling, than their praying. "Thou wilt requite them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands." Namely, as to their penalties. For, Psalm 28:4 states: "Requite them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds."”

“Vindication from adversaries is here sought. This is due to a security from prayers heard, and vindication considered. Such is also from their foretelling, than their praying. Thus, two more notions are given: "Thou wilt requite them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands." Namely, as to their penalties. For, Psalm 28:4 states: "Requite them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds." Second, a determination of their penalty is evaluated. First, regards its duration: "Thou wilt give them dullness of heart; thy curse will be on them." Namely, the sin by which they made you labor. Besides, Isaiah 1:14 claims: "I am weary of bearing them." That is, since you (O Lord) restore a shield against their sins from their heart. So that, they are not to be penetrated by arrows of divine grace, and the sword of thy word (O Lord). Hence Job 41:15 can say: "His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal."”

“Buckler, to cover all the body. They shall be surrounded with misery, (Psalm cviii. 29.) while God will protect his servants, Psalm v. 13. (Calmet) — Let sorrow pierce their heart, as thy enemies are treated. (Worthington) Bible Text & Cross-references: 1 Aleph . I am the man that see my poverty by the rod of his indignation. 2 Aleph . He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, and not into light. 3 Aleph . Only against me he hath turned, and turned again his hand all the day. 4 Beth . My skin and my flesh he hath made old, he hath broken my bones. 5 Beth . He hath built round about me, and he hath compassed me with gall, and labour. 6 Beth . He hath set me in dark places, as those that are dead for ever. 7 Ghimel . He hath built against me round about, that I may not get out: he hath made my fetters heavy. 8 Ghimel . Yea, and when I cry, and entreat, he hath shut out my prayer. 9 Ghimel . He hath shut up my ways with square stones, he hath turned my paths upside down. 10 Daleth . He is become to me as a bear lying in wait: as a lion in secret places. 11 Daleth . He hath turned aside my paths, and hath broken me in pieces, he hath made me desolate. 12 Daleth . He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for his arrows. 13 He . He hath shot into my reins the daughters of his quiver. 14 He . I am made a derision to all my people, their song all the day long. 15 He . He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath inebriated me with wormwood. 16 Vau . And he hath broken my teeth one by one, he hath fed me with ashes. 17 Vau . And my soul is removed far off from peace, I have forgotten good things. 18 Vau . And I said: My end, and my hope is perished from the Lord. 19 Zain . Remember my poverty, and transgression, the wormwood and the gall. 20 Zain . I will be mindful, and remember, and my soul shall languish within me. 21 Zain . These things I shall think over in my heart, therefore will I hope. 22 Heth . The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because his commiserations have not failed. 23 Heth . They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. 24 Heth . The Lord is my portion, said my soul: therefore will I wait for him. 25 Teth . The Lord is good to them that hope in him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 Teth . It is good to wait with silence for the salvation of God. 27 Teth . It is good for a man, when he hath borne the yoke from his youth. 28 Jod . He shall sit solitary, and hold his peace: because he hath taken it up upon himself. 29 Jod . He shall put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. 30 Jod . He shall give his cheek to him that striketh him, he shall be filled with reproaches. 31 Caph . For the Lord will not cast off for ever. 32 Caph . For if he hath cast off, he will also have mercy, according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 Caph . For he hath not willingly afflicted, nor cast off the children of men. 34 Lamed . To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land, 35 Lamed . To turn aside the judgment of a man before the face of the most High, 36 Lamed . To destroy a man wrongfully in his judgment, the Lord hath not approved. 37 * Mem . Who is he that hath commanded a thing to be done, when the Lord commandeth it not? 38 Mem . Shall not both evil and good proceed out of the mouth of the Highest? 39 Mem . Why hath a living man murmured, man suffering for his sins? 40 Nun . Let us search our ways, and seek, and return to the Lord. 41 Nun . Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to the Lord in the heavens. 42 Nun . We have done wickedly, and provoked thee to wrath: therefore thou art inexorable. 43 Samech . Thou hast covered in thy wrath, and hast struck us: thou hast killed, and hast not spared. 44 Samech . Thou hast set a cloud before thee, that our prayer may not pass through. 45 Samech . Thou hast made me as an outcast, and refuse, in the midst of the people. 46 Phe . All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 Phe . Prophecy is become to us a fear, and a snare, and destruction. 48 Phe . My eye hath run down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 Ain . My eye is afflicted, and hath not been quiet, because there was no rest: 50 Ain . Till the Lord regarded, and looked down from the heavens. 51 Ain . My eye hath wasted my soul, because of all the daughters of my city. 52 Sade . My enemies have chased me, and caught me like a bird, without cause. 53 Sade . My life is fallen into the pit, and they have laid a stone over me. 54 Sade . Waters have flowed over my head: I said: I am cut off. 55 Coph . I have called upon thy name, O Lord, from the lowest pit. 56 Coph . Thou hast heard my voice: turn not away thy ear from my sighs, and cries. 57 Coph . Thou drewest near in the day, when I called upon thee: thou saidst: Fear not. 58 Res . Thou hast judged, O Lord, the cause of my soul, thou the Redeemer of my life. 59 Res . Thou hast seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me, judge thou my judgment. 60 Res . Thou hast seen all their fury, and all their thoughts against me. 61 Sin . Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, all their imaginations against me. 62 Sin . The lips of them that rise up against me: and their devices against me all the day. 63 Sin . Behold, their sitting down, and their rising up, I am their song. 64 Thau . Thou shalt render them a recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands. 65 Thau . Thou shalt give them a buckler of heart, thy labour. 66 Thau . Thou shalt persecute them in anger, and shalt destroy them from under the heavens, O Lord.”

“Vindication from adversaries is here sought. This is due to a security from prayers heard, and vindication considered. Such is also from their foretelling, than their praying. Thus, two more notions are given: "Thou wilt requite them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands." Namely, as to their penalties. For, Psalm 28:4 states: "Requite them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds." Second, a determination of their penalty is evaluated. First, regards its duration: "Thou wilt give them dullness of heart; thy curse will be on them." Namely, the sin by which they made you labor. Besides, Isaiah 1:14 claims: "I am weary of bearing them." That is, since you (O Lord) restore a shield against their sins from their heart. So that, they are not to be penetrated by arrows of divine grace, and the sword of thy word (O Lord). Hence Job 41:15 can say: "His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal." Third, the determination of penalty to their body is accounted for: "Thou wilt pursue them in anger and destroy them from under thy heavens, O Lord." That is, through different afflictions. Finally, is considered up to the time you (O Lord) destroy them by death, and eternal damnation. That is "under thy heavens, O Lord." Namely, those persons who would desire to reside in these heavens. For, Jeremiah elsewhere declares: "Bring upon them the day of evil; destroy them with double destruction!" (Jeremiah 17:18). And Psalm 83:15: "So do thou pursue them with thy tempest and terrify them with thy hurricane."”