Lamentations 3:27
in Lamentations 3It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
KJV
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
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This verse in Lamentations 3
Commentary
3 notes on this verseIt is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Either the yoke of the commandments, as the Targum; or of correction, as Aben Ezra; of afflictions, as fatherly chastisements; both senses may be retained.
This site's exposition
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him
on Lamentations 3:25-27
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him, turns the confession of the previous unit into instruction, goodness as something waited for rather than only received in a moment. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord names the waiting itself as good, not merely the outcome it leads to, patience given its own worth. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth closes the unit with a proverb the bench reads alongside Jeremiah's own life, discipline accepted early rather than resented, the same yoke language the book has used of Babylon's rule now turned toward formation.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
YOKE-BEARING is not pleasant, but it is good. It is not every pleasant thing that is good, nor every good thing that is pleasant. Sometimes the goodness may be just in proportion to the unpleasantness. Now, it is childish to be always craving for sweets—those, who by reason of use have had their senses exercised, should prefer the wholesome to the palatable. It ought to reconcile us to that which is unsavory when we are informed that it is good! A little child is not easily reconciled that way, because, as yet, he cannot think and judge.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ט֣וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לַגֶּ֔בֶר | lagever | for <the> man | H1397 → | 65 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִשָּׂ֥א | yisa' | he will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עֹ֖ל | ʾol | a yoke | H5923 → | |
| בִּנְעוּרָֽיו׃ ס | binurav | in youth<s> his | H5271 → |
ט֣וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
לַגֶּ֔בֶרfor <the> man
lageverH1397 →65 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִשָּׂ֥אhe will bear
yisa'H5375 →656 times
עֹ֖לa yoke
ʾolH5923 →
בִּנְעוּרָֽיו׃ סin youth<s> his
binuravH5271 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 90:12So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:16–17
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
- Psalms 39:4
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.
- John 9:4
While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
- Deuteronomy 32:29
If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
- Ephesians 5:16–17
Through
Psalms 119:71It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 12:10–11
Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
- Psalms 119:67
Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.
- 1 Corinthians 11:32
Through
Ecclesiastes 12:1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 11:8
So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 11:8
Where this verse is studied
3 studies on this verse
On Lamentations 3:27
Great Is Thy Faithfulness: Lamentations 3:22–24 · MannaFest
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On Lamentations 3:27
The Weeping Prophet — the Confessions of Jeremiah
Open the study →
On Lamentations 3:27
The Yoke
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Also on Lamentations 3: 3 studies that walk through this chapter ▾
About Lamentations
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1291: “The Best Burden for Young Shoulders” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.