Lamentations 3:13-21 · Bible study
Lamentations 3:13-21 Commentary: From Despair to Hope
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore how Lamentations 3:13-21 moves from deepest affliction to renewed hope through the deliberate act of remembering God's faithfulness.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The passage traces the speaker's journey from the depths of affliction (God’s arrows, bitterness, brokenness) to a deliberate act of remembering that restores hope.
- Key words: kidneys (seat of emotions), bitter things, wormwood, gravel, ashes, remember, wait/hope.
- Main debate: What is the “this” in v. 21? Does it refer to the preceding misery or the following mercies (vv. 22, 23)?
- Theological theme: The path from lament to hope through honest prayer and recalling God’s faithfulness.
- Best use: Teaching on suffering, lament, and the role of memory in faith; counseling those in despair.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
13He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
14I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
15He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
16He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
17My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”
19Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
20Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.
21Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
WEB World English Bible 2000
13He has caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my kidneys.
14I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.
15He has filled me with bitterness. He has stuffed me with wormwood.
16He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.
17You have removed my soul far away from peace. I forgot prosperity.
18I said, “My strength has perished, along with my expectation from Yahweh.”
19Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.
20My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me.
21This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.
KJV King James Version 1769
13He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
14I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.
15He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
16He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
17And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
18And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:
19Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
20My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
13He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins.
14I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day.
15He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath sated me with wormwood.
16He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes.
17And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity.
18And I said, My strength is perished, and mine expectation from Jehovah.
19Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
20My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is bowed down within me.
21This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
13He hath caused to enter into my reins The sons of His quiver.
14I have been a derision to all my people, Their song all the day.
15He hath filled me with bitter things, He hath filled me with wormwood.
16And He breaketh with gravel my teeth, He hath covered me with ashes.
17And Thou castest off from peace my soul, I have forgotten prosperity.
18And I say, Perished hath my strength and my hope from Jehovah.
19Remember my affliction and my mourning, Wormwood and gall!
20Remember well, and bow down doth my soul in me.
21This I turn to my heart--therefore I hope.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
13He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
14I am become a derision to all my people; their song all the day.
15He hath sated me with bitterness, he hath made me drunk with wormwood.
16He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
17And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I have forgotten prosperity.
18And I said, My strength is perished, and my hope in Jehovah.
19Remember thou mine affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
20My soul hath [them] constantly in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21— This I recall to heart, therefore have I hope.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
13He. He hath shot into my reins the daughters of his quiver.
14He. I am made a derision to all my people, their song all the day long.
15He. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath inebriated me with wormwood.
16Vau. And he hath broken my teeth one by one, he hath fed me with ashes.
17Vau. And my soul is removed far off from peace, I have forgotten good things.
18Vau. And I said: My end and my hope is perished from the Lord.
19Zain. Remember my poverty, and transgression, the wormwood and the gall.
20Zain. I will be mindful and remember, and my soul shall languish within me.
21Zain. These things I shall think over in my heart, therefore will I hope.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Lamentations 3:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this passage traces the speaker's journey from the depths of acute suffering to a fragile but real hope. The metaphors, God's arrows piercing the kidneys (the seat of innermost emotions, as Clarke and Calvin note), being filled with bitter things and intoxicated with wormwood, having teeth broken with gravel, pile up to describe total collapse of physical, social and spiritual well-being. Barnes and Matthew Henry emphasize that the speaker speaks for the people, encapsulated in exile. The turning point in verse 21 is what JFB and the Cambridge Bible call the hinge: the speaker deliberately recalls something to mind, and hope is restored. Most commentators (Calvin, JFB, Cambridge) see that “this” points forward to the mercies of God in the following verses (3:22, 23). The passage is not pure complaint but a record of the struggle from despair to faith, an intentional act of memory that leads the speaker to wait on Yahweh once more.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Referring to preceding misery: Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch (citing an older view) argue that the speaker recalls his own weakness and desperation, and this very memory drives him to cast himself on God, producing hope.
- Referring to following mercies: Most modern commentators (JFB, Cambridge, Gill) hold that 'this' points forward to verses 22–23 (God's lovingkindnesses and compassions), which are then elaborated as the ground for hope.
What is clear: The speaker makes a deliberate mental act—bringing something to mind—that turns him from despair to hope, and this hope is grounded in God's character rather than in changed circumstances.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The meaning of 'kidneys' | Both Jewish and Christian commentators understand the kidneys as the seat of deepest emotions and moral discernment (cf. Hebrew anthropology). | No significant debate; it is a standard ancient Near Eastern metaphor. |
| The identity of the speaker | The speaker is a representative figure who speaks for the devastated people of Jerusalem; likely the prophet Jeremiah. | Some see the voice as purely individual (the prophet’s personal lament), others as corporate (the city personified). |
| The referent of 'this' in verse 21 | It marks a deliberate turning point in the speaker’s thinking, restoring hope. | Calvin and some older interpreters take 'this' as referring to the speaker’s own weakness and misery (which drives him to God). Most modern commentators (JFB, Cambridge, Keil & Delitzsch) see it as pointing forward to the mercies of God in vv. 22, 23. A mediating view sees it as the act of turning to God itself. |
| The nature of hope | Hope is not a feeling but an act of waiting on God (Hebrew yachal, 'to wait'), grounded in God’s character. | No significant debate. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The book of Lamentations belongs to the aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon in 587 BC. The city lay in ruins, the temple burned, and much of the population exiled. The acrostic structure of this chapter uses the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet; verses 13, 21 form part of the third stanza (each letter begins a set of three verses). The speaker, likely the prophet Jeremiah, though the text does not name him, voices the city’s grief in first-person singular, representing the community.
The metaphor of God as an archer (v. 13) draws on ancient warfare imagery. Deuteronomy 32:23 speaks of Yahweh spending his arrows on his enemies; Job 6:4 laments the arrows of the Almighty drinking their poison. In Hebrew anthropology, the kidneys (kilyah) were the seat of the deepest emotions and moral discernment, much as the modern world speaks of the heart. For the arrows to enter the kidneys means God’s judgment strikes the very core of the person’s being.
The other images reflect everyday realities turned oppressive: grit in bread (v. 16, see Proverbs 20:17), ashes of mourning, and wormwood, a bitter herb. The shift from third person (v. 13, 16) to second person (v. 17, “You have removed my soul…”) marks a direct address to God, intensifying the prayer. Verse 19 introduces the language of homelessness (merudi, “my wandering”), recalling the exile. The repeated “wormwood and gall” in verses 15 and 19 frames the speaker’s suffering as both physical and spiritual.
Verse 18 reaches the bottom: “My strength has perished, along with my hope from Yahweh.” The word for strength (netsach) can mean enduring life or victory; the word for hope (tochalet) is an expectant waiting. Both are declared dead. Then verse 21 makes a decisive mental move: “This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.” What that “this” refers to is the central interpretive question, but the act itself is unmistakable, a deliberate turning of the mind toward something that can sustain faith in the dark.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries note one notable textual issue. In verse 17, the Masoretic Text reads “you have removed” (second person, addressing God). The Septuagint and Syriac versions, as well as the Targum, read “he has removed” (third person). The Cambridge Bible notes that shifting to the third person would avoid the abrupt change of address, but the MT reading is retained by most scholars as lectio difficilior (the harder reading) and is supported by the immediate context of direct address in verse 18. No other significant variants are mentioned in the sources consulted.
Reception History
This passage has been read across Christian traditions as a model for honest lament that moves toward hope. Calvin saw in verses 19, 21 an example of the believer wrestling with despair and finding strength through deliberate recollection. The Berleburger Bible (cited by Keil & Delitzsch) described the speaker as struggling with despair until he soars back into faith. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown noted that Jeremiah here serves as a type of Christ, who was also made a derision (Psalm 22:6). The phrase “This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope” (v. 21) has been used in spiritual writings on the discipline of memory and meditation. In liturgical contexts, Lamentations 3 is often read during Holy Week, connecting the depth of the city’s suffering to Christ’s passion. The turn from complaint to hope in verse 21 is echoed in many hymns about God’s faithfulness in the midst of affliction.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Depth of Affliction (vv. 13, 18). The speaker describes suffering in visceral terms: arrows in the kidneys, bitterness, broken teeth, isolation, lost peace, and collapsed hope. No corner of life is untouched.
- The Memory of Misery (vv. 19, 20). The speaker brings his affliction before God in prayer, and his soul is bowed down by remembering. The double verb “remembers remembers” (Hebrew infinitive absolute) shows that the memory is relentless.
- The Deliberate Turn to Hope (v. 21). The speaker chooses to bring something else to mind, “this”, and hope is reborn. Hope does not come by accident; it is an act of recall.
Five-point outline
- Arrows that pierce the soul (v. 13). God as hunter, penetrating the innermost self.
- Bitterness and mockery (vv. 14, 15). Both internal anguish and external scorn.
- Physical and social breakdown (vv. 16, 17). Broken teeth, ashes, forgotten prosperity.
- The loss of strength and hope (v. 18). The declaration that everything good from God is gone.
- The prayer that remembers and the decision that hopes (vv. 19, 21). The turn from complaint to plea, from remembrance of misery to remembrance of something else that yields hope.
Illustration hooks
- A person who has lost their health, reputation, and community all at once. They feel like God has targeted them.
- Being mocked or ignored by those who once respected you, verse 14 captures the loneliness of public shame.
- Stuck in a cycle of replaying painful memories; verse 20 describes the soul bowed down under constant remembrance.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I hope when I feel God has abandoned me?
- Is it wrong to tell God how angry and hurt I am?
- What do I do when my strength and hope are gone, where do I start?
Leading a Discussion
This passage takes us into the deepest pit of despair, but it does not leave us there. It shows the path from honest lament to renewed hope. The speaker does not deny the pain; he names it fully. Then he makes a deliberate move: he recalls something to mind, and hope returns. As you discuss, pay attention to both the honesty of the complaint and the intentionality of the turn.
Discussion questions
- What metaphors does the speaker use to describe his suffering in verses 13, 17? Which one strikes you most, and why?
- Why do you think the speaker shifts from speaking about God in the third person to addressing God directly in verse 17? What does that shift say about his prayer?
- In verse 18, the speaker says his strength and hope have perished from the Lord. What does it feel like to reach that point? Have you ever felt that way?
- What is the speaker asking God to do in verse 19? How does remembering his own affliction and misery become a prayer?
- The Hebrew of verse 20 uses an infinitive absolute before the finite verb: “remembering, it remembers.” Why do you think the poet intensifies the verb? What does that tell us about the speaker’s state of mind?
- Verse 21 is the turning point. What is the “this” that the speaker brings back to his heart? (Read verses 22, 23 to see what follows.) How does recalling that change everything?
- How can you practice bringing to mind something true about God when you are stuck in despair? What specific truths of Scripture could serve as your “this”?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 32:23 | “I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them. |
| Job 6:4 | For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me. |
| Job 41:28 | The arrow can’t make him flee. Sling stones are like chaff to him. |
| Nehemiah 4:2 | He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?” |
| Nehemiah 4:4 | “Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity. |
| Job 30:1 | “But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I considered unworthy to put with my sheep dogs. |
| Job 30:9 | “Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them. |
| Psalms 22:6 | But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke focuses on the intensely physical metaphors Jeremiah uses, calling arrows "the sons of his quiver" and describing teeth shattered on gravel and suffocation in dust. He points out these images are so vivid they make the reader nearly feel the pain. Clarke then notes a turning point where bitter complaint gives way to humility and revived hope.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that even escape brings no relief: God, like a lion lying in wait, forces the sufferer off his path only to ambush and tear him. The prophet reaches the verge of despair before struggling back to hope, remembering that God hears the contrite.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator argues that the prophet's change of tone in Lamentations begins with recalling his own deep misery and humility over sin, not by jumping ahead to hope. Only after fully acknowledging this lowly state does the sense arise that contrition will be accepted and deliverance granted.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights the turning point in verse 21: the writer's hope returns not from his own strength but from recalling God's unchanging character. He notes that "this" refers to the mercies that follow, though Calvin reads it as the writer's weakness becoming the very ground for God's help.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch insist the imperative "Remember" in verse 19 is a prayer addressed to God, not a reflection by the speaker. This makes the turn from despair to hope start with a direct appeal for divine help. The soul's being bowed down in verse 20 then logically follows from meditating on suffering, prompting reliance on God's ever-fresh mercies.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the entire chapter shifts from overwhelming complaint to the first glimmer of hope, and that hope is what keeps the heart from breaking. He emphasizes that recalling God's mercies, which are new every morning, is what grounds that hope, not anything in the sufferer himself.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that wormwood and ashes are symbols of bitter affliction, used to describe the severity of God's judgments. He then notes that the verse points to a profound truth about God's character and his benevolent governance of the world.