John Calvin Commentary Lamentations 3:2

"He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light." — Lamentations 3:2 (ASV)

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: