Lamentations 3:31
in Lamentations 3For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the Lord will not cast off for ever.
KJV
For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
⋯
This verse in Lamentations 3
Commentary
4 notes on this verseon Lamentations 3:31-33
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.
This site's exposition
For the Lord will not cast off for ever
on Lamentations 3:31-33
For the Lord will not cast off for ever states the limit on the affliction directly, judgment bounded rather than final. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies pairs the two acts as the same hand's work, grief and compassion held together rather than set against each other. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men gives the chapter's clearest statement on the nature of divine judgment, the bench reading willingly as reluctance rather than delight, a God who judges because justice requires it and not because he enjoys the sentence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on Lamentations 3:31-32
Therefore the sufferer is thus penitent, thus patient, because he believes that God is gracious and merciful, which is the great inducement both to evangelical repentance and to Christian patience.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord - אדני Adonai; but one of my ancient MSS. has יהוה Jehovah. The above verse is quoted in reference to our Lord’s passion, by Mat 26:62.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִזְנַ֛ח | yiznach | he will reject | H2186 → | 20 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֖ם | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| אֲדֹנָֽי׃ | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִזְנַ֛חhe will reject
yiznachH2186 →20 times
לְעוֹלָ֖םfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
אֲדֹנָֽי׃[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
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 94:14For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
it leads to
- Romans 11:1–2
I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 12:22
Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
- Psalms 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Deuteronomy 32:9
But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
- Romans 8:30
And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
- Romans 11:1–2
Through
Isaiah 57:16For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me, with the breath of those I have made.
it leads to
- Psalms 85:5
Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Micah 7:18
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Jeremiah 10:24
Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
- Psalms 85:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Lamentations
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance 1.5.22-24; Carl Friedrich Keil, Lamentations and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.