EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Lamentations 3:39
39He only punishes us when we do wrong things. We are still alive, so we should not be angry with God.
Lamentations 3:39 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
- New International Version (NIV)Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?
Context of Lamentations 3:39
37The Lord causes things to happen. Nobody can cause things to happen without him. 38The Most High God causes all things to happen. He causes good things and bad things to happen when he speaks. He only punishes us when we do wrong things. We are still alive, so we should not be angry with God. 40Instead, we should think a lot about what we do, and we should turn back to the Lord again. 41We should lift up our hands and pray to God in heaven. We should be honest with God and say to him,
Read all of Lamentations 3Lamentations 3:39 word by word
מַה־יִּתְאוֹנֵן֙ אָדָ֣ם חָ֔י גֶּ֖בֶר עַל־חֲטָאָֽיו׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Lamentations 3:39
- Lamentations 3:22The Lord's faithful love never comes to an end. He never stops being kind to us.
- Numbers 11:11So Moses said to the Lord, ‘I am your servant. But you have given this problem to me! It seems that you are not pleased with me. You have given to me the hard job to be leader of all these people.
- Proverbs 19:3Some people do silly things and so they destroy themselves. Then they get angry with the Lord.
- Isaiah 38:17Yes, it was good for me to have this trouble. You rescued me from the deep hole of death. You removed my sins, and you put them behind your back.
- Genesis 4:5But God was not pleased with Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry. His face looked sad.
- Leviticus 26:41They must remember that they made me angry. They caused me to turn away from them. I am the Lord, and I sent them into their enemies' country. They will be sorry until I have punished them enough.
- Numbers 16:41But on the next day, all the Israelites together complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, ‘You have killed the Lord's people!’
- Numbers 17:12The Israelites said to Moses, ‘We will all die!
- Joshua 7:6Joshua was so upset that he tore his clothes. He fell with his face to the ground in front of the Lord's Covenant Box. He stayed there until evening time, together with the Israelite leaders. They all put dirt on their heads.
- 2 Samuel 6:7The Lord was very angry with Uzzah because he did not respect God's rules. He immediately knocked Uzzah down to the ground. Uzzah died there, beside the Covenant Box.
- 2 Kings 3:13Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘We have nothing to say to each other! Instead, go to the prophets that your father and your mother liked to listen to.’ The king of Israel replied, ‘No! The Lord told us three kings to come here together. Now he is putting us under Moab's power.’
- 2 Kings 6:32Elisha was sitting in his house. The leaders of the city were with him. The king sent a man to Elisha with a message. But before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, ‘I tell you this. That murderer, the king, has sent someone to cut off my head. When the king's man arrives, shut the door. Stop him from coming in here. We will soon hear the sound of his master as he arrives too.’
- Ezra 9:13All these bad things have happened to us because we are guilty of many wicked things. But, our God, you still have not punished us as much as we deserve. You have let some of us remain alive.
- Job 11:6He would show you the secret of wisdom. True wisdom is not easy to understand. But you must understand this: God is punishing you less than you deserve.
- Isaiah 51:20Your children have become weak, and they lie on the ground at the side of every street. They are like deer that a trap has caught. The anger of the Lord your God has made them helpless. He has warned them loudly.
- Jonah 2:3You threw me into the deep water, and I fell into the middle of the sea. The deep water covered me. You sent big waves to roll over me.
Commentaries on Lamentations 3:39
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 39Wherefore doth a living man complain - He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. How great soever his affliction may be, he is still alive; therefore, he may seek and find mercy unto eternal life. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 37-39Verses 37-39 Why then does a loving God, who disapproves of suffering when inflicted by man upon man, Himself send sorrow and misery? “Because of sins.” Lamentations 3:37 Literally, “Who is this that spake and it was done, though אדני 'ădonāy commanded it not?” Lamentations 3:39 So long as God spares a man‘s life, why does he complain? The chastisement is really for his good; only let him use it aright, and he will be thankful for it in the end. A man…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 37-41Verses 37-41 While there is life there is hope; and instead of complaining that things are bad, we should encourage ourselves with the hope they will be better. We are sinful men, and what we complain of, is far less than our sins deserve. We should complain to God, and not of him. We are apt, in times of calamity, to reflect on other people's ways, and blame them; but our duty is to search and try our own ways, that we may turn from evil to God. Our…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-39Some disasters have natural causes (Luke 13:1–5). Bad things happen to both good and bad people (Matthew 5:45). No matter what happens, we should give thanks and not complain (1 Thessalonians 5:18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 37-3937-39. Who is it that can (as God, Psa 33:9) effect by a word anything, without the will of God?Read the comment
Topics related to Lamentations 3:39
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Lamentations 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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