Lamentations 3:19 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Lamentations 3:19 kjv
Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Lamentations 3:19 nkjv
Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall.
Lamentations 3:19 niv
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
Lamentations 3:19 esv
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!
Lamentations 3:19 nlt
The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
Lamentations 3 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 9:16 | "When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant..." | God remembers His covenant |
| Exod 2:24 | "God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob." | God remembers suffering of His people |
| Ps 25:6 | "Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love..." | Plea for God's remembrance of mercy |
| Ps 77:11 | "I will remember the deeds of the Lord..." | Believer remembering God's works |
| Isa 49:15 | "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast...? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" | God's steadfast remembrance |
| Hos 8:13 | "...He will now remember their iniquity and punish their sins..." | God remembers sin for judgment |
| Deut 29:18 | "...lest there should be among you a root that bears poisonous fruit and wormwood." | Warning against spiritual bitterness/idolatry |
| Prov 5:4 | "But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword." | Bitterness as a consequence of sin |
| Jer 9:15 | "Therefore this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood...'" | God's judgment symbolized by wormwood |
| Jer 23:15 | "Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: 'Behold, I will feed them with wormwood...'" | Judgment on false prophets |
| Lam 3:15 | "He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood." | Earlier expression of extreme bitterness |
| Acts 8:23 | "For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." | Spiritual bitterness as bondage |
| Heb 12:15 | "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble..." | Warning against internal bitterness |
| Ps 44:24 | "Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?" | Plea to God not to forget suffering |
| Ps 106:44 | "Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry..." | God sees and hears distress |
| Ps 119:153 | "Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law." | Plea for deliverance from affliction |
| Isa 63:9 | "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them..." | God's empathy in affliction |
| Matt 27:34 | "They offered him wine mixed with gall to drink; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it." | Christ's suffering, offer of bitter drink |
| Mark 15:23 | "And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it." | Parable for bitter drink offered to Christ |
| Deut 32:32 | "For their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison, their clusters are bitter." | Poisonous fruit, metaphorical gall |
| Job 7:11 | "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul." | Expression of profound suffering |
| Job 9:18 | "...he fills me with bitterness." | Deep personal suffering, bitterness |
| 1 Pet 5:10 | "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore..." | Hope after suffering |
Lamentations 3 verses
Lamentations 3 19 meaning
Lamentations 3:19 encapsulates the prophet's personal and communal plea to God, asking Him to actively recall the depth of their suffering. It is a raw expression of extreme physical and emotional distress, vividly portraying their desolation, wretchedness, and the profoundly bitter consequences of divine judgment, symbolized by wormwood and gall. This plea seeks divine empathy and recognition of their agonizing plight before God.
Lamentations 3 19 Context
Lamentations chapter 3 stands as the literary and theological centerpiece of the book. While the preceding chapters detailed the communal destruction of Jerusalem, this chapter offers a personal lament, likely from Jeremiah, yet representing the collective agony of Judah. The prophet endures extreme physical and psychological torment (vv. 1-18), reaching the nadir of despair where hope seems completely absent. Verse 19 specifically articulates the low point, crying out to God to remember the overwhelming bitterness and wretchedness they face, the literal consequence of their sins and God's just judgment. It marks the very deepest expression of suffering just before a pivotal turn toward hope in verses 21-23. The historical context is the devastating aftermath of Jerusalem's destruction by Babylon in 586 BC, with the people facing exile, famine, and unspeakable suffering, grappling with the broken covenant and the silence of God.
Lamentations 3 19 Word analysis
Remember (זָכַר - zakhar):
- This is not a plea for God to merely recall information, but for Him to actively engage with the remembered state.
- It implies a call for compassionate intervention, much like when God remembered Noah, Abraham, or His covenant with Israel, leading to action (Gen 8:1; Exod 2:24).
- It reflects a deep faith that God’s remembrance carries inherent power to alter circumstances.
My affliction (עָנְיִ֑י - ‘ŏnîy):
- Refers to severe suffering, misery, distress, oppression, or humble state.
- It encompasses both external hardships and internal emotional pain.
- Signifies the crushing weight of their physical deprivations and humiliation as a conquered people.
And my wandering/wretchedness (וּמְרוּדִ֣י - ûmᵉrûḏî):
- The term merudiy carries multiple layers of meaning often associated with bitterness, flight, expulsion, or miserable wandering.
- In context, it describes the state of being driven away from home, cast out, in a restless and desolate condition, experiencing bitter anguish and wretchedness as exiles.
- It points to the collective experience of exile and homelessness, as well as the deep bitterness resulting from it.
The wormwood (לַֽעֲנָה֙ - la‘ănāh):
- Refers to a bitter plant, symbolic of bitter experience, intense sorrow, or judgment.
- Often associated with the harsh consequences of disobedience and divine chastisement in prophetic literature.
- It conveys the internal, searing pain and disillusionment.
And the gall (וָרֹֽאשׁ׃ - wārō’š):
- Refers to a poisonous plant or venom, signifying deadly bitterness, extreme suffering, or a venomous condition.
- Often found alongside wormwood to emphasize an overwhelming and destructive bitterness.
- It denotes the absolute worst of their suffering, a taste of death itself.
Lamentations 3 19 Bonus section
The repetitive use of 'my' ("my affliction and my wandering") emphasizes the intensely personal experience of suffering, even within the context of communal calamity. While representing the nation, the prophet intimately feels its burden. The terms la‘anah (wormwood) and ro’sh (gall/poison) are almost a set pair in the Old Testament, always indicating a condition of extreme bitterness, disaster, or divine punishment, signifying that the suffering is not accidental but a severe, just consequence. The placement of this verse is crucial: it stands just before the moment where the prophet chooses to call to mind God's faithfulness (Lam 3:21), marking the nadir from which hope is intentionally grasped.
Lamentations 3 19 Commentary
Lamentations 3:19 is a cry from the lowest point of human suffering, articulating the profound and debilitating pain of Judah. The speaker implores God to not simply acknowledge, but to actively remember their deep personal and collective 'affliction' and 'wretched wandering' (or 'bitter plight'). The imagery of "wormwood and gall" is a powerful dual metaphor, evoking the absolute apex of bitterness, sorrow, and poisonous judgment they are forced to endure. It's an expression that their entire existence has become saturated with pain, not just a passing discomfort, but a constant, gnawing agony. This verse is not just an explanation of pain but a petition for divine recall that implicitly pleads for action, a desire for God to re-engage with their suffering as He has in past covenants, foreshadowing a potential turning point toward mercy, though still steeped in present anguish.