Lamentations 3:33
in Lamentations 3For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.
KJV
For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
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This verse in Lamentations 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIs 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 us off forever
on Lamentations 3:31-33
Grief and compassion come from the same hand: “Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion”. The Hebrew behind willingly in verse 33 reads literally from His heart: “For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men”.
This site's exposition
He does not willingly afflict
The Hebrew reads from His heart, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note, and they compare Ezekiel 33:11. Matthew Henry says that in all the affliction of His people He is afflicted, and His soul is grieved. Adam Clarke likens Him to a good father with a rod.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
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."
The Medieval Church1 voice
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 …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He comes out of his place to punish, for his place is the mercy-seat. He delights not in the misery of any of his creatures, but, as it respects his own people, he is so far from it that in all their afflictions he is afflicted and his soul is grieved for the misery of Israel.
For he doth not afflict willingly,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He does not afflict any willingly (literally, "from His heart," that is, as if He had any pleasure in it, Eze 33:11), much less the godly (Heb 12:10).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For he doth not afflict willingly - It is no pleasure to God to afflict men. He takes no delight in our pain and misery: yet, like a tender and intelligent parent, he uses the rod; not to gratify himself, but to profit and save us.
The words behind it
7 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 |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עִנָּה֙ | ʾinah | he has afflicted | H6031 → | |
| מִלִּבּ֔וֹ | milibo | from heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וַיַּגֶּ֖ה | vaiyageh | and he has grieved | H3013 → | 8 times |
| בְנֵי־ | benei- | [the] children of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אִֽישׁ׃ ס | ʾish | a man | H376 → |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עִנָּה֙he has afflicted
ʾinahH6031 →
מִלִּבּ֔וֹfrom heart his
miliboH3820 →595 times
וַיַּגֶּ֖הand he has grieved
vaiyagehH3013 →8 times
בְנֵי־[the] children of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
אִֽישׁ׃ סa man
ʾishH376 →
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
Ezekiel 33:11Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live.…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:23
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 2:4
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- Ezekiel 18:23
Through
Ezekiel 18:32For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live.…
- Ezekiel 33:11
Through
Isaiah 28:21For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 14:11
So David and his men went up to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, God has burst out against my enemies by my hand.” So they called that…
- Joshua 10:12
On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley…
- 1 Chronicles 14:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
On this verse
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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; Cyprian, Pseudo-Cyprian Exhortation to Repentance; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.