Thomas Aquinas Commentary Lamentations 3:46-48

"All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us. Fear and the pit are come upon us, devastation and destruction. Mine eye runneth down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people." — Lamentations 3:46-48 (ASV)

Here, the prophet wins the reader’s sympathy by provoking indignation against the enemy for the evils they have brought upon the people.

He first describes the preparation for capture, and second, the captivity itself.

1. The preparation for capture.
2. The captivity itself, described in the words, my enemies have chased me (Lamentations 3:52).

Regarding the preparation for capture, the prophet mentions three things:

1. First, he describes the readiness of their enemies, who have opened their mouths as if ready to devour. As the psalmist says, They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring (Psalms 21:14).
2. Second, he points to the deception of the false prophets, by whom the people should have been fortified against their enemies. This deception brought fear before the captivity, a snare in the capture itself, and destruction afterward. This is the result of their false prophecy. As Isaiah says, Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O you inhabitant of the earth (Isaiah 24:17).
3. Third, the prophet presents his own compassion, crying with streams of tears over each and every misfortune. The psalmist expresses a similar grief: My eyes have sent forth springs of water (Psalms 118:136).

It should be noted, however, that according to some scholars, the next three verses should be placed before the preceding ones. This is because in the original Hebrew text, it is contrary to the usual order for the letter phe to appear before the letter ain in the acrostic pattern.