Lamentations 3:53 kjv
They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.
Lamentations 3:53 nkjv
They silenced my life in the pit And threw stones at me.
Lamentations 3:53 niv
They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me;
Lamentations 3:53 esv
they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me;
Lamentations 3:53 nlt
They threw me into a pit
and dropped stones on me.
Lamentations 3 53 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 37:24 | ...they took him and cast him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. | Joseph cast into a dry cistern/pit by brothers. |
| Jer 38:6 | So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son... | Jeremiah's similar experience of being put in a pit. |
| Ps 40:2 | He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog... | Deliverance from a deep, deadly pit. |
| Ps 88:4-6 | I am counted among those who go down to the pit... You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. | Sinking to the deepest pit of despair. |
| Zech 9:11 | As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. | Divine rescue from metaphorical prison-pit. |
| Ps 69:1-2 | Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck... I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold. | Sinking in deep, overwhelming trouble. |
| Jon 2:6 | I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. | Jonah's cry from a death-like "pit". |
| Ps 30:3 | O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you have restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. | Deliverance from death's grip (the pit). |
| Lam 3:55 | I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit... | Immediate context of calling out from the pit. |
| 2 Sam 18:17 | And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and piled up a very great heap of stones over him. | Direct example of stones for entombment. |
| Josh 7:26 | And they piled over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. | Achan buried under a heap of stones. |
| John 11:38 | ...Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. | A stone sealing a tomb, implying finality. |
| Matt 27:60 | ...and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb... | Christ's burial sealed by a stone. |
| Job 7:9 | As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up. | The seeming permanence of death/despair. |
| Ps 71:20 | You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. | Hope of resurrection from lowest depths. |
| Ps 119:85 | The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they are not in accordance with your law. | Enemies setting traps, like pits. |
| Ecc 12:5 | ...and men fear what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. | Foreshadowing death and burial as one's final dwelling. |
| Hos 13:14 | I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. | God's power to redeem from death's grip. |
| Col 2:12 | having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God... | Metaphorical death (burial) and resurrection in Christ. |
| Phil 3:10 | ...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death... | Identification with Christ's death and suffering. |
Lamentations 3 verses
Lamentations 3 53 Meaning
Lamentations 3:53 profoundly articulates the depth of the speaker's (Jeremiah's, representing Judah's) suffering. It depicts a state of utter helplessness and deliberate persecution, where they were cast into a metaphorical or literal pit while still alive, then had stones thrown upon them, signifying an attempt at entombment, ensuring an inescapable and torturous demise, or burying alive. This powerful imagery conveys overwhelming affliction, the complete loss of freedom, and an intended finality of suffering that mimics death itself, leaving no room for escape or survival.
Lamentations 3 53 Context
Lamentations 3:53 appears in the deeply personal "Lament of the Man of Sorrows" (Lam 3:1-66), which forms the central and pivotal chapter of the Book of Lamentations. Following descriptions of extreme individual suffering inflicted by God's wrath and human enemies, the preceding verses (3:43-52) describe how God has cut off and cast down the speaker, pursued relentlessly by enemies, bringing him to the brink of despair. This particular verse vividly describes a moment of peak desolation and near-death experience. The horror is magnified by the explicit "alive," indicating an intended slow and agonizing death. Historically, the book recounts the profound anguish of Jerusalem and Judah after its destruction by Babylon in 586 BC, depicting both divine judgment and the immense human suffering it entailed. The personal lament of Jeremiah here is often understood to reflect the collective experience of the nation. The following verses, starting from 3:54, transition towards calling upon God and experiencing a turning point towards hope and remembrance of God's mercies.
Lamentations 3 53 Word analysis
- They flung me: The Hebrew is יָדוּ (yadu), from the root יָדָה (yadah), meaning "to throw," "cast," or "fling." This is an active, violent action by unidentified agents, emphasizing the victim's passivity and the forceful nature of the assault. It implies an abrupt and ruthless act.
- into the pit: The Hebrew is אֶל־בּוֹר (el-bor). בּוֹר (bor) typically refers to a cistern or a dungeon, often a deep, dark, and damp cavity, possibly a dried-up well or a refuse pit. Such pits were frequently used as prisons (as with Joseph and Jeremiah himself), or to dispose of bodies, symbolizing imprisonment, danger, hopelessness, and often impending death or abandonment. It is a place of inescapable confinement.
- alive: The Hebrew is חַיִּים (ḥayyîm), meaning "living" or "lives." This word is critically important as it emphasizes the horror of being consigned to such a fate while still fully conscious and vital. It suggests not a swift execution, but a deliberate act of burial alive or slow perishing, amplifying the agony, terror, and hopelessness of the situation. It speaks of a living entombment.
- and cast stones: The Hebrew is וַיַּשִּׁמוּ אֶבֶן (vayyashshimu 'even), from the root שׂוּם (sum), meaning "to put," "place," or "set." אֶבֶן ('even) means "stone." This isn't merely throwing stones at someone in battle, but placing or casting stones into the pit on the person.
- on me: The Hebrew is עָלָי ('alay), meaning "upon me." The combination "cast stones on me" (lit. "and they put stones upon me") powerfully depicts an act of burial, entombment, or an attempt to crush or permanently seal off the victim. It signifies a deliberate act to prevent escape, to ensure demise, or to cover and silence the victim forever. The accumulation of stones represents the weight of suffering and the seeming finality of the despair.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "They flung me into the pit alive": This phrase highlights extreme malice and a terrifying, deliberate act of dehumanization. The victim is treated as an object to be discarded, signifying profound contempt and a desire to extinguish life slowly or ensure no survival. It points to overwhelming persecution that entraps and buries a living person.
- "and cast stones on me": This group intensifies the first part by adding a layer of finality and oppressive weight. It's an act designed to seal fate, to ensure death by crushing, suffocation, or entombment. It vividly portrays the sensation of being utterly overwhelmed, buried under the burden of suffering and oppression, with no hope of breaking free. The stones represent the heavy, unyielding reality of their affliction.
Lamentations 3 53 Bonus section
The suffering depicted in Lamentations 3:53, of being buried alive or crushed by adversity, is often seen as prefiguring aspects of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. While Christ's experience was voluntary and redemptive, He too experienced the ultimate depths of abandonment, feeling the weight of the world's sin upon Him, descending metaphorically into a "pit" of cosmic judgment, and then being literally entombed with a stone rolled over His grave. This verse thus echoes a universal human experience of utter desolation, while also hinting at the profound self-giving of the Suffering Servant (Isa 53) who willingly entered into such a "pit" to bring ultimate rescue. It is a powerful example of lament as raw honesty before God, acknowledging the full, unbearable weight of affliction before finding the pathway to divine comfort.
Lamentations 3 53 Commentary
Lamentations 3:53 provides one of the most poignant descriptions of the individual suffering experienced during Judah's devastation. The imagery of being "flung into the pit alive" is a terrifying metaphor for being plunged into deep, suffocating despair and inescapable confinement, often a metaphor for Sheol or the brink of death itself. The added horror of having "stones cast on me" goes beyond simple imprisonment; it conveys an intentional burial or entombment while still living, signifying the ultimate act of cruelty and an absolute desire to ensure the victim's demise and complete helplessness. This vividly expresses a condition of overwhelming affliction, where the world feels as though it is collapsing and burying one alive, sealing off all avenues of hope and rescue. It underscores the profound physical and psychological torment endured, a sensation of being utterly abandoned and covered by a deluge of adversity. The passage sets the stage for the dramatic shift that follows, as the individual, having plumbed the depths of despair, then recalls God's faithfulness and mercy.