John Calvin Commentary Lamentations 3:56

"Thou heardest my voice; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry." — Lamentations 3:56 (ASV)

When the Prophet says that God heard, it is as if he said that he had prayed in such a way that God became a witness of his earnestness and solicitude. For many boast in lofty terms of their earnestness, fervor, and constancy in prayer, but all their boasting is empty and vain. But the Prophet summons God as a witness of his crying, as if he had said that he was not so overwhelmed by his adversity, yet he always fled to God.

He then says, Close not, and so on. Properly, it means “hide not.” But as this is not quite suitable to our ears, I am inclined to offer this version: Close not your ear to my cry. The verb רוח ruch, means to dilate or to respire. Therefore, almost all translate the noun here as “breathing.” However, what follows—to my prayer or cry—cannot support this meaning. I have no doubt that these two words mean crying, for in groaning the human spirit dilates itself, and the soul, compressed by grief, expands. When we cast our cares and troubles into the bosom of God, then the spirit forcibly emerges. This, then, is what the Prophet means when he asks God not to close His ear to his dilation or groaning, and to his cry.