Lamentations 3:54
in Lamentations 3The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.
KJV
Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
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This verse in Lamentations 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThird, the very imprisonment of those imprisoned is exposed: "Water closed over my head; I said, 'I am lost'." Namely, the waters of tribulations are multiplied. Again: "I said, 'I am lost'." That is, desperately and impatiently. As the prophet Jonah reports: "All thy waves …
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Waters flowed over mine head,.... As in a pit or dungeon, where there is not only mire and clay, but much water, into which persons being put, sink, and are covered therewith; see Psa 69:1; this is to be understood metaphorically of the waters of afflictions, which overflowed and overwhelmed the people of the Jews.
Note, The distresses of God's people sometimes prevail to such a degree that they cannot find any footing for their faith, nor keep their head above water, with any comfortable expectation. They complain of their own excessive grief and fear upon this account. (1.) The afflicted church is drowned in tears, and the prophet for her (
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): " Then I said, I am cut off, ruined, and see no hope of recovery; I am as one dead." Note, Those that are cast down are commonly tempted to think themselves cast off, Ps. xxxi. In the midst of these sad complaints here is one word of comfort, by which it appears that their case was not altogether so bad as they made it,
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The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Waters--not literally, for there was "no water" (Jer 38:6) in the place of Jeremiah's confinement, but emblematical of overwhelming calamities (Ps 69:2;
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A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Waters flowed over mine head - A figurative expression for great mental trouble.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צָֽפוּ־ | tzafu- | they overflowed | H6687 → | |
| מַ֥יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשִׁ֖י | roshi | head my | H7218 → | 599 times |
| אָמַ֥רְתִּי | ʾamarti | I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נִגְזָֽרְתִּי׃ ס | nigzareti | I have been cut off | H1504 → |
צָֽפוּ־they overflowed
tzafu-H6687 →
מַ֥יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשִׁ֖יhead my
roshiH7218 →599 times
אָמַ֥רְתִּיI said
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
נִגְזָֽרְתִּי׃ סI have been cut off
nigzaretiH1504 →
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 37:11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
it leads to
- Ephesians 2:1
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
- Psalms 77:7–9
“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
- Ezekiel 39:25
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.
- Jeremiah 31:1
“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”
- Ezekiel 36:10
I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
- Ephesians 2:1
Through
Psalms 18:4The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
it leads to
- Psalms 116:3
The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
- Matthew 27:24–25
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he…
- 2 Corinthians 1:9
Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
- Psalms 116:3
Where this verse is studied
About Lamentations
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.