Albert Barnes Commentary Lamentations 3:10-18

"He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins. I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath sated me with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength is perished, and mine expectation from Jehovah." — Lamentations 3:10-18 (ASV)

Having dwelt upon the difficulties which obstructed his path, he now shows that there are dangers that accompany escape.

The meaning of Lamentations 3:11 is, “God, as a lion, lying in wait, has made me turn aside from my path, but my flight was in vain, for springing upon me from His ambush He has torn me in pieces.”

Desolate – Or, stunned, stupefied that he cannot flee. This word is a favorite one with Jeremiah.

Regarding Lamentations 3:12, this new simile arises out of the former one, the idea of a hunter being suggested by that of the bear and lion. When the hunter comes, it is not to save him.

In Lamentations 3:14, the metaphor is dropped, and Jeremiah shows the real nature of the arrows which rankled in him so deeply.

Concerning Lamentations 3:15: “He hath filled me to the full with bitterness,” that is, bitter sorrows (Job 9:18).

Regarding Lamentations 3:16: Broken my teeth with gravel stones – His bread was so filled with grit that in eating it his teeth were broken.

Concerning Lamentations 3:17: Prosperity – literally, as in the margin; that is, I forgot what good was, I lost the very idea of what it meant.

Regarding Lamentations 3:18, the prophet reaches the verge of despair. But by struggling against it, he eventually reaches firm ground.