Passage

Lamentations 3.1-9

Book: Lamentations · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2. He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light. 3. Surely against me he turneth his hand again and again all the day. 4. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 5. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. 6. He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead. 7. He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy. 8. Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer. 9. He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked."

"10. He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places. 11. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate." (Lamentations 3:1-11, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. I am the man that has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2. He has led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light. 3. Surely against me he turns his hand again and again all day long. 4. He has made my flesh and my skin old; he has broken my bones. 5. He has built against me, and surrounded me with gall and travail. 6. He has made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead. 7. He has walled me about, that I can’t go out; he has made my chain heavy. 8. Yes, when I cry, and call for help, he shuts out my prayer. 9. He has walled up my ways with cut stone; he has made my paths crooked."

"10. He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places. 11. He has turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he has made me desolate." (Lamentations 3:1-11, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. 3. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 5. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. 6. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. 7. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. 8. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. 9. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked."

"10. He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. 11. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate." (Lamentations 3:1-11, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. I [am] the man [who] hath seen affliction By the rod of His wrath. 2. Me He hath led, and causeth to go [in] darkness, and without light. 3. Surely against me He turneth back, He turneth His hand all the day. 4. He hath worn out my flesh and my skin. He hath broken my bones. 5. He hath built up against me, And setteth round poverty and weariness. 6. In dark places He hath caused me to dwell, As the dead of old. 7. He hath hedged me about, and I go not out, He hath made heavy my fetter. 8. Also when I call and cry out, He hath shut out my prayer. 9. He hath hedged my ways with hewn work, My paths He hath made crooked."

"10. A bear lying in wait He [is] to me, A lion in secret hiding-places. 11. My ways He is turning aside, and He pulleth me in pieces, He hath made me a desolation." (Lamentations 3:1-11, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.