New Living Translation
Lamentations 3:19
19The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.
Lamentations 3:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
- New International Version (NIV)I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall.
Context of Lamentations 3:19
17Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. 18I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. 20I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. 21Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
Read all of Lamentations 3Lamentations 3:19 word by word
זְכָר־עָנְיִ֥י וּמְרוּדִ֖י לַעֲנָ֥ה וָרֹֽאשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Lamentations 3:19
- Nehemiah 9:32“And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.
- Job 7:7O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.
- Psalms 89:47Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!
- Psalms 132:1Lord, remember David and all that he suffered.
- Lamentations 3:5He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.
- Jeremiah 9:15So now, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.
Commentaries on Lamentations 3:19
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Remembering - Or, as in the margin. It is a prayer to Yahweh. My misery - Or, “my” homelessness (Lamentations 1:7 note).Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19is wormwood and the gall: Wormwood is a plant with a bitter taste. Here, it represents deep emotional pain (Proverbs 5:4; Revelation 8:11). Gall refers to a poisonous plant. If someone eats it, it causes strong physical pain. Because of this, it became a symbol for extreme suffering and distress (Deuteronomy 29:18; Psalm 69:21). The author feels trapped, as if there is no way out of his suffering.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2119-21. 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--(Jr 9:15).Read the comment
Topics related to Lamentations 3:19
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries