John Calvin Commentary Lamentations 3

The word עברה (obere) properly means assault, a passing over of limits; but what is characteristic of humanity is often in Scripture ascribed to God. Here also He changes the person, for He spoke before of the people under the figure of a woman, as is often done; but now the Prophet himself comes before us. At the same time, there is no doubt that by his own example he exhorted all others to lamentation, which was to be connected with true repentance. And this chapter, as we will see, is full of rich instruction, for it contains remarkable sentiments which we will consider in their proper places.

Some think that this Lamentation was written by Jeremiah when he was thrown into prison, but this opinion does not seem probable to me. The contents of the chapter sufficiently show that this ode was composed to set forth the common calamity of the whole people.

Jeremiah, then, does not here plead his own private cause. Instead, he shows his own nation what remedy there was for them in such a state of despair: namely, to have immediate recourse to God, and on the one hand, to consider their sins, and on the other, to look to the mercy of God, so that they might entertain hope and exercise themselves in prayer. All these things we will see in their due order.

The Prophet then says that he was an afflicted man, or a man who saw affliction. This way of speaking, we know, is common in Scripture—to see affliction, to see good and evil, to see life and death. He then says that he had experienced many afflictions, and not only this, but that he had been given up, as it were, to miseries—how? by the rod of his fury. He does not mention the name of God, but Jeremiah speaks of Him as one well known, using only a pronoun.

Now, then, at the very beginning, he acknowledges that whatever he suffered had been inflicted by God’s hand. Furthermore, since all the godly should be convinced of this truth—that God is never angry without just reasons—a brief confession is included in the word wrath, especially when by the rod, or staff, is added. In short, the Prophet says that he was very miserable, and he also expresses the cause, for he had been severely chastised by an angry God.

The letters of the alphabet are tripled in this chapter, a point I previously omitted to mention. In the first two chapters, each verse begins with the successive letters of the alphabet, except that in the last chapter there is one instance of inversion, where Jeremiah has put פ, phi, before ע, oin; or it may be that the order has been changed by the scribes, but this is uncertain. Here then, as I have said, each letter is repeated three times. Then the first, second, and third verses begin with א, aleph; and the fourth verse begins with ב, beth, and so it continues to the end.

He confirms here the last verse, for he shows the cause or the manner of his afflictions, because he had been led into darkness and not into light. This kind of contrast does not have the same force in other languages as it does in Hebrew. But when the Hebrews said that they were in darkness and not in the light, they amplified that obscurity, as if to say that there was not even a spark of light in that darkness, it being so thick and obscure. This is what the Prophet now means. And we know what is generally understood by 'darkness' in Scripture: namely, every kind of lamentation. For the appearance of light exhilarates us; indeed, the serenity of heaven cheers and revives the minds of people. Therefore, darkness signifies all sorts of adversities and the sorrow that proceeds from them. He afterwards adds:

Now he says that God was an adversary to him; for this is what the verb ישב, isheb, means: He is turned against me.

As an enemy, when intending to fight, comes to meet one from the opposite side, so the Prophet says of God, who had become an enemy to him. And he teaches the same thing in another way when he says that he perceived that the hand of God was against him: He turns, he says, against me his hand daily, or all the day, כל-היום, cal-eium.

But the Prophet simply means constancy, as though he had said that there was no truce, no cessation, because God manifested the rigor of his vengeance without limit or end.

He afterwards adds —

These, as is evident, are metaphorical words. Illness often makes people look old, for leanness proceeds from pain; thus, the skin is contracted, and the wrinkles of old age appear even in young people.

Since sorrows exhaust moisture and strength, one who pines away in mourning is therefore said to grow old. This is what the Prophet now means. God, he says, has made my flesh and my skin to grow old; that is, He has worn me out, within and without, so that I am almost wasted away.

He then adds, He has broken my bones. This seems to be hyperbolical; but we have said elsewhere that this simile does not in every instance express the greatness of the sorrow which the faithful feel under a sense of God’s wrath.

Both David and Hezekiah spoke in this way; in fact, Hezekiah compares God to a lion:

As a lion, he says, has he broken my bones (Isaiah 38:13).

And David says at one time that his bones wasted away, at another that they were broken, and at another that they were reduced to ashes; for there is nothing more dreadful than to feel that God is angry with us.

The Prophet, then, regarded not only outward calamities but also the evidence of God’s vengeance. Indeed, in their distresses, the people could see nothing else except that God was their enemy—and this was true.

For God had often exhorted them to repentance; however, upon those whom He had found incurable, He at length, as was just, poured forth His vengeance to the uttermost.

This, then, was the reason why the Prophet said that God had broken his bones. He then adds:

The words, as translated, may seem harsh, yet they possess uncommon beauty in Hebrew. The Prophet says he was blocked up and confined, as it were, by walls; and as we will see, he repeats this comparison three times—in other words, indeed, but for the same purpose.

God, he says, hath built against me, as, when we wish to besiege anyone, we build mounds, so that there may be no escape. This, then, is the kind of building of which the Prophet now speaks: God, he says, holds me confined all around, so that there is no way of escape open to me.

He then gives a clearer explanation: that he was surrounded by gall (or poison) and trouble. He mentions poison first, and then, literally, he shows what that poison was—namely, that he was afflicted with many troubles. He afterwards adds—