Lamentations 3:19

“Remembering mine affliction and my misery, etc.] The miserable affliction of him and his people; the remembrance of which, and poring upon it continually, caused the despondency before expressed: though it may be rendered imperatively, “remember my affliction, and my misery” f66; so the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions; and Aben Ezra observes, that the words may be considered as a request to God, and so they seem to be; the prophet, and the people he represents, were not so far gone into despair, as to cast off prayer before God; but once more looked up to him, beseeching that he would, in his great mercy and pity, remember them in their distressed condition, and deliver out of it; for none…”

“This gives the reason why he gave way to the temptation to despair. The Margin, "Remember" does not suit the sense so well. wormwood . . . gall-- (Jer 9:15).”

“Remembering - Or, as in the margin. It is a prayer to Yahweh. My misery - Or, “my” homelessness (Lamentations 1:7 note). return to 'Top of Page'”

“Wormwood - Wormwood and gall, are often made use of to signify great affliction. Lamentations 3:21”

“3:19 is bitter beyond words (or is wormwood and gall): Wormwood is a plant with a bitter taste; here it represents the emotional intensity of inner agony (Prov 5:4; Rev 8:11). Gall is a poisonous plant that causes severe physical pain if eaten; it is a powerful symbol for extremely stressful emotions (Deut 29:18; Ps 69:21). The author seems to be at a dead end from which he cannot escape.”

“Remembering: or, Remember, Neh 9:32; Job 7:7; Psa 89:47, Psa 89:50, Psa 132:1 the: Lam 3:5, Lam 3:15; Jer 9:15 Lamentations 3:20”

“Consideration of God's compassion and His omnipotence as displayed at critical junctures in the affairs of men. C. B. Michaelis has correctly perceived, and thus set forth, the transition from the complaint, bordering on despair, to hope, as given in Lam 3:19 : luctatur hic contra desperationis adfectum, quo tentatus fuerat, Lam 3:18, mix inde per fidem emersurus. In like manner it is said in the Berleburger Bibel, "In Lam 3:19 he struggles with despair, to which he had been tempted, and in the following verse soars up once more into the region of faith." By the resumption of עני from Lam 3:1, and of לענה and ראשׁ from Lam 3:15 and Lam 3:5, the contents of the whole preceding lamentation are…”