Lamentations 3

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Lamentations 3

1 I Am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.

17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:

19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.

35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,

36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.

37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?

38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.

41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.

43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.

45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.

50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.

51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

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

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>I am the man who has seen torment. Yirmiyahu lamented, saying, “I am the man who has seen torment,” [i.e.,] who has seen torment more than all the prophets who prophesied concerning the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh, for the Beis Hamikdosh was not destroyed in their days, but it was [destroyed] in my days . By the rod of His fury. Of the One who chastises and smites, i.e., the Holy One, Blessed is He.¹Alternatively, the enemy’s rod, i.e., this phrase reverts to ‘my enemy has annihilated,’ and how, ‘by the rod of his fury.’ (Ibn Ezra) </html>

Verse 3

<html>At me alone He repeatedly. I alone am constantly smitten, for the entire repetition of His blows is upon me. </html>

Verse 4

<html>He rotted my flesh. As in, “to rotten לְבוּל wood.”²Yeshayahuu 44:19. Another explanation: ‘He has made my flesh and skin waste away,’ as in, “And the earth will wear away תִּבְלֶה like a garment,”³Ibid., 51:6. i.e., both young and old lay outdoors on the ground with neither pillow nor cushion, and their flesh wore out, when they were going into exile. </html>

Verse 5

<html>Encircling. He encompassed me. Gall and bitter plants. As in, “gall and bitter fruit.”⁴Devarim 29:17. The Midrash Aggadah [states] that רֹאשׁ, refers to Nevuchadnetzar in the exile of Yehoyachin; and תְלָאָה [refers to] Nevuzaradan, who completed the blow in the days of Tzidkiyahu, and he wearied me.⁵According to this Midrash, תלאה is an expression similar to Shemos 18:8, where it means travail, hardship. (Sifsei Chachomim) </html>

Verse 7

<html>He fenced me in. He has made a wall opposite me [so that I] should be imprisoned.⁶Symbolic of Nevuchadnetzar’s siege around Yerusholayim. (Lechem Dimah) And I cannot go out. He stationed around me camps and troops of soldiers lying in wait for me. He chained me heavily. He made heavy fetters for my feet so that I would not be able to walk, ferjes in O.F. </html>

Verse 8

<html>He represses my prayer. He shut the windows of the heavens before it.</html>

Verse 9

<html>He has made my paths crooked. If I wish to go out, I do not go out in the roads paved in a straight way, because of the enemies, but I go out on the crooked road. </html>

Verse 10

<html>He is a bear lying in wait for me. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, turned into a bear in wait for me.⁷Alternatively, bear refers to Nevuchadnetzar who lay in wait to attack the Bnei Yisroel who are symbolized by a lion. (Eichah Rabbah 3:4) </html>

Verse 11

<html>He spread thorns across my roads. An expression of thorns, [meaning that] He “has strewn” them with thorns, [i.e.,] He scattered thorns on my ways.⁸Alternatively, ‘he forced me off my path.’ (Ibn Ezra) He made me hurdle them. An expression of spreading the legs.⁹Alternatively, ‘he wounded me.’ (Yalkut Me’am Lo’ez) One who passes on roads that are not cleared must widen his stride, and there is an example of this in the language of the Gemara:¹⁰Maseches Mo’ed Katan 10b. “The one who pruned דְּפָשַׁח¹¹I.e., he separated the branches from the tree trunk. Here too, he had to separate his legs, i.e., take large strides, in order to avoid the thorns. a date palm.” </html>

Verse 12

<html>[He] positioned me as a target. He set me up opposite His arrows to shoot at me like a target,¹²By having to hurdle over the thorns I was forced to slow down, thereby becoming an easy target for my enemy. (Lechem Dimah) aseneil in O.F. </html>

Verse 13

<html>The arrows of His quiver. Arrows that are put into the quiver, called cuivre [in O.F.]. </html>

Verse 16

<html>He ground. [Meaning] and He broke; and an example is, “My soul is crushed גָּרְסָה,”¹³Tehilim 119:20. and similarly, “ground גֶּרֶשׂ when still fresh.”¹⁴Vayikra 2:14. Pebblestones. Fine pebbles that are in the dust, for the exiles would knead their dough in the pits that they would dig in the ground, and the gravel would enter it, as the Holy One, Blessed Is He, said to Yechezkeil, “Make yourself implements for exile,”¹⁵Yechezkeil 12:3. in which to drink and in which to knead a small cake, so that they should learn and do likewise, as it is stated, “And Yechezkeil will be to you for a sign.”¹⁶Ibid., 24:24. But they ridiculed him and did not do so; at the end their teeth were broken. He made me grovel. He turned me over in ashes like a vessel inverted on its mouth, adenter in O.F. [to throw flat on one’s face]. There is a similar [word] in the Mishnah, “Pishon the camel driver measured with a reversible measure.”¹⁷Maseches Yevamos 107b; he would invert the measure to his advantage, thereby shortchanging his customers. </html>

Verse 18

<html>I thought that my world was ruined. I said to myself because of my many troubles, “My world and my hope are gone.” </html>

Verse 19

<html>And my lament. Conpleint in O.F., [wailing]. </html>

Verse 20

<html>When remembering. My soul [remembers] my affliction and my misery and is bowed down within me. This is the simple meaning according to the context of the verse.¹⁸I.e., תזכור is in the ‘third person feminine,’ and refers to his soul. But, the Midrash Aggadah explains זָכוֹר תִּזְכּוֹר, as, “I know that in the end You will remember what was done to me,¹⁹I.e., תזכור is in the ‘second person masculine,’ and refers to God. In the Hebrew language, the ‘second person masculine’ and the ‘third person feminine’ are identical. (Sifsei Chachomim) but my soul is bowed down within me waiting for the time of remembrance.” On this [explanation] the liturgical author based, “With this I know that You have to remember, but my soul is bowed down within me until You remember.” </html>

Verse 21

<html>Still I take this to heart. After my heart told me that my hope from God was gone, I will reply this to my heart, and I will continue to hope. What is it that I will reply to my heart? </html>

Verse 22

<html>By the grace Adonoy we have not perished. And the entire section until, “Why should [a living man] bemoan, etc.”²⁰Below, verse 39. We have not perished. תָמְנוּ is] the same as תַמּוּ [ended].²¹I.e., in ‘the third person’ meaning ‘they have not perished.’ But according to Rashi’s second explanation, תמנו is in the ‘second person’ meaning ‘we have not perished.’ (Sifsei Chachomim) And some explain כִּי לֹא תָמְנוּ as in, “Will we ever stop תַּמְנוּ dying?”²²Bamidbar 17:28. It is the kindnesses of God that we were not annihilated, that we have not perished because of our sins. </html>

Verse 23

<html>Each morning refreshed. Your kindnesses are renewed from day to day. Your faithfulness is immense. Your promise is great, and it is a great thing to believe in You that You will fulfill and keep what You promised us. </html>

Verse 24

<html>‘Adonoy is my portion,’ my soul declares. God is my portion; therefore it is proper that I should hope in Him. </html>

Verse 26

<html>It is good to hope in stillness. The vav of וְיָחִיל is superfluous just like the vav of “וְאַיָּה וַעֲנָה”²³Bereishis 36:24. [is superfluous in וְאַיָּה. It is good for man to hope, and remain silent and wait for God’s salvation. </html>

Verse 28

<html>Let him stay alone. Whoever was befallen by mourning and trouble should sit alone and wait for good [to come]. And wait. An expression of waiting, as in, “If they say thus to us, ‘Wait דֹּמוּ!’”²⁴I Shmuel 14:9. [in the incident dealing] with Yehonoson. For He [God] has cast it upon him. For the Master of Decrees has put this decree upon him.²⁵Alternatively, ‘until He removes it,’ i.e., until He removes the suffering from him. (Targum) </html>

Verse 31

<html>For God does not forsake forever. It is therefore good to wait.</html>

Verse 32

<html>Rather should he [man] cause grief. If man brings grief upon himself because of his sin[s], afterwards, He will yet have compassion in accordance with His immense grace.²⁶Alternatively, ‘He first afflicts, then pities according to His abundant kindness.’ (Targum) Cause grief … Cause grief. [Both words] are expressions of grief.</html>

Verse 33

<html>For He does not torment willfully nor cause men grief. From His heart and from His will;²⁷Alternatively, if man does not humble himself from haughtiness, God will cause him grief. (Targum) rather the sin causes [the grief]. </html>

Verse 34

<html>By crushing underfoot. This refers back to, “For He does not torment willfully by crushing underfoot, etc. nor through the miscarriage of one’s justice, etc. nor by aggrieving a man in his dispute.” All these, God did not condone. He did not approve of them, and it did not enter His thought to do so.²⁸Alternatively, ‘by crushing underfoot’ refers to Nevuchadnetzar. (Midrash Eichah 3:30) </html>

Verse 36

<html>Does not condone. He does not approve that the heavenly tribunal should distort a person’s dispute, as in, “What did you see רָאִיתָ that you did, etc.”²⁹Bereishis 20:10. </html>

Verse 37

<html>Whosoever issued a declaration that took effect, etc. </html>

Verse 38

<html>From the Almighty, etc. And if you attempt to say that this evil did not come to me from His hand, that it is coincidence that has befallen me; this is not so. For both bad occurrences and good occurrences, who has commanded and they came to pass, unless God ordained? And He commands neither bad nor good [to come]. But what should a living man bemoan? “A man for his sins.” Every man should bemoan his sins, because they are what bring the evil upon him. (“They did not emanate from the Almighty,” Rabbi Yochonon said, “From the day that the Holy One, Blessed Is He, said, ‘See, I have placed before you today the life and the good, etc.,’³⁰Devarim 30:15. neither evil nor good has come from His command.” Rather the evil comes by itself to the one who commits evil, and the good to the one who does good.) Therefore, what should one bemoan? Why should a man be angry, if not about his sins? </html>

Verse 41

<html>Let us uplift our hearts together with our hands. When we lift up our hands to heaven let us also lift up our hearts with them to return, to bring back our hearts before the Omnipresent, Blessed is He. Another explanation: “With our hands.” אֶל כַּפָּיִם means] to the clouds, to heaven, as [Scripture] states, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s palm, rising.”³¹I Melochim 18:44. And similarly, “Over the clouds He covers the rain.”³²Iyov 36:32. But the Midrash of our Rabbis [states], “Let us uplift our hearts” sincerely to the Holy One, Blessed Is He, like a person who washes his hands to clean them, casts from his hands all contamination, for “he who confesses and abandons will obtain mercy,” but he who confesses but does not abandon [his sins] is like one who [is ritually impure who] immerses himself while holding a[n impure] creeping animal in his hand.³³Until he casts it away he will not become ritually pure. See Rashi in Maseches Ta’anis 16a. </html>

Verse 42

<html>We have transgressed and rebelled. This is our way, because of the evil inclination. And you have not forgiven. And for You, forgiveness is fitting, for so is Your way. </html>

Verse 43

<html>You have covered Yourself in wrath. You set up anger to be a barrier between You and us, and You pursued us with it. </html>

Verse 45

<html>Spittle, abominable. This is mucus; in the language of the Mishnah, “his phlegm and his mucus,”³⁴Maseches Bava Kama 3b. which is drawn out through the lungs and emitted through the throat. You made us. This is in the present tense.</html>

Verse 47

<html>Terror then the pit. When we fled because of the terror, we fell into the pit.³⁵See Yeshayahuu 24:17-18. Ruin. An expression of desolation, as in, “ruin.”³⁶The last three words “as in ‘ruin’” is omitted from Rashi’s text. (Sifsei Chachomim) </html>

Verse 49

<html>[It will flow] without pause. Without change or cessation.</html>

Verse 51

<html>My eye has made me ugly, sorrowing over my soul, more than all the inhabitants of my city. Yirmiyahu was from a family of kohanim, and he said, “My eye, with its tears, sullied my face over my soul more than all the inhabitants of my city.” Made me ugly. And expression of sullying, as in, “and sullied my radiance with dirt.”³⁷Iyov 16:15. More than all the inhabitants of my city. My family has more reason to cry than all the families of the city, for it was chosen for sanctity and for the service of the Holy One, Blessed Is He, over all Yisroel. </html>

Verse 53

<html>They bound my life to the dungeon. In prison. They bound. They bound, as in, “the converging צוֹמֶת of the sinews;”³⁸Maseches Chulin 76a. “from within your kerchief לְצַמָּתֵךְ,”³⁹Shir Hashirim 4:1. estreinirent in O.F. And cast stones upon me. On the mouth of the well [=dungeon]. That is what they did to Doniyeil;⁴⁰See Donieil 6:18. and Yirmiyahu foresaw it with the Holy Spirit. They bound my life to the dungeon. And although they confined my life in the dungeon from which I cannot ascend, they did not take this to heart [i.e., they were not satisfied] </html>

Verse 54

<html>The waters rose, etc. When a person is in water up to his waist, there still is hope, but if the water rises over his head, he then says, “My hope is gone,” but I do not do this, rather “I called out, etc.” The waters rose. The nations of the world.⁴¹I.e., ‘Water’ is an allegory referring to the nations of the world. </html>

Verse 57

<html>You came near on the day I called to You. So were You accustomed in the earlier days to draw near to me on the days I called.</html>

Verse 58

<html>You fought, O God, the battles of my soul. In the days past. </html>

Verse 59

<html>You have seen, Adonoy, how aggrieved I am. In this distress, that my enemies wronged me. Administer justice for me. As You have already done.</html>

Verse 65

<html>Break their hearts. A breaking of the heart, as [Scripture] says, “I will break you, O Yisroel,”⁴²Hosheia 11:8. [and as in,] “who broke your adversaries in your hand.”⁴³Bereishis 14:20. Another explanation of מְגִנַּת לֵב is ‘stopping up of the heart,’ trouble and sighing, which are like a shield against their heart. But he who explains it as an expression of grief is wrong, because there is no nun in this word, for the nun in יָגוֹן is not a radical, but it is like the nun of הָמוֹן from the [same] root as הָמוּ גוֹיִם, and like the nun of קָלוֹן from the root of נִקְלֶה, and like the nun of צִיּוֹן from the root of צִיָּה, and similarly the nun of שִׁבְרוֹן from the root of שֶׁבֶר. (and like the nun of שִׁמָּמוֹן and שִׁגָּעוֹן. It appears to me that this is the correct reading, and this is easy to understand.) [Turn them] into fools. תַּאֲלָתְךָ is] an expression of [foolishness,⁴⁴Alternatively, an expression of suffering, i.e., ‘turn Your suffering, as it were, to them [our enemies].’ Whenever the Bnei Yisroel suffer, God suffers, as it were, with them. Or תאלתך is an expression of a curse [אלה] i.e., ‘bring upon them the curses [written in the Torah].’ as in], “the princes of Tzo’an have become foolish נוֹאֲלוּ.”⁴⁵Yeshayahuu 19:13.</html>

Table of Contents

Lamentations 3

Lamentations 3

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 16

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 26

Verse 28

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 33

Verse 34

Verse 36

Verse 37

Verse 38

Verse 41

Verse 42

Verse 43

Verse 45

Verse 47

Verse 49

Verse 51

Verse 53

Verse 54

Verse 57

Verse 58

Verse 59

Verse 65