Lamentations 3:17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 3:1-20

The title of the Ps. 102:1-28 might very fitly be prefixed to this chapter?The prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the Lord; for it is very feelingly and fluently that the complaint is here poured out. Let us observe the particulars of it. The prophet complains, 1. That God is angry. This gives both birth and bitterness to the affliction (Lam. 3:1): I am the man, the remarkable man, that has seen affliction, and has felt it sensibly, by the rod... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 3:17

And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace ,.... From the time the city was besieged by the Chaldeans, and now the people was carried captive; who could have no true peace, being in a foreign land, in an enemy's country, and out of their own, and far from the place of divine worship; nor could the prophet have any peace of soul, in the consideration of these things, the city, temple, and nation, being desolate, though he himself was not in captivity. I forgat prosperity ; or "good"... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:17

Those hast removed my soul - Prosperity is at such an utter distance from me, that it is impossible I should ever reach it; and as to happiness, I have forgotten whether I have ever tasted of it. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:17

Verse 17 By saying that his soul was remote from peace, he means that no good remained; for by peace, as it is well known, the Hebrews understood every kind of prosperity. And he explains himself by another clause, that, he had forgotten every good; and this forgetfulness ought to be understood, so to speak, as real or entire; for if there had been any reason for rejoicing, it would not have been forgotten; for all are naturally pleased with what is pleasant, nay, they with avidity seek what... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:1-21

MONOLOGUE SPOKEN BY AN INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER WHOSE FATE IS BOUND UP WITH THAT OF THE NATION ; OR PERHAPS BY THE NATION PERSONIFIED (see Introduction). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:17

Thou hast removed my soul ; rather, thou hast rejected my soul. The words look like a quotation from Psalms 88:14 (Hebrew, 15), where they are undoubtedly an address to Jehovah. But there is another rendering, which grammatically is equally tenable, and which avoids the strangely abrupt address to God, viz. My soul is rejected ( from peace ) . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:17

Prosperity forgotten. What a touching picture of extreme adversity and distress do these words present: "I forgat prosperity"! Days of happiness are so distant that they have faded into oblivion; their memory is obliterated by recurring sorrows, by continuous misfortunes. II. ADVERSITY DOES NOT FULFIL ITS INTENDED PURPOSE IF IT LEADS TO DESPAIR . There are natures in which a reverse of circumstances induces depression, which gradually deepens into despondency.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 3:10-18

Having dwelt upon the difficulties which hemmed in his path, he now shows that there are dangers attending upon escape.Lamentations 3:11The meaning is, “God, as a lion, lying in wait, has made me turn aside from my path, but my flight was in vain, for springing upon me from His ambush lie has torn me in pieces.”Desolate - Or, astonied, stupefied that he cannot flee. The word is a favorite one with Jeremiah.Lamentations 3:12This new simile arises out of the former one, the idea of a hunter being... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Lamentations 3:14-19

Lamentations 3:14-19. I was a derision to all my people To all the wicked among them, who made themselves merry with the prophet’s griefs and the public judgments; and their song all the day Hebrew, נגינתם , their instrument of music. The word, says Blaney, “is commonly rendered their song; but I rather think it means a subject upon which they played, as upon a musical instrument, for their diversion.” He hath filled me with bitterness A bitter sense of these calamities. God has... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Lamentations 3:1-66

Grief, repentance and hope (3:1-66)This poem is different in style from the previous two. The poet speaks as if he is the representative of all Judah, describing Judah’s sufferings as if they were his own. And those sufferings are God’s righteous judgment (3:1-3). He is like a starving man ready to die. Indeed, he feels as if he already dwells in the world of the dead (4-6). He is like a man chained and locked inside a stone prison from which there is no way out (7-9).To the writer God seems... read more

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