Lamentations 3:7 kjv
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
Lamentations 3:7 nkjv
He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy.
Lamentations 3:7 niv
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.
Lamentations 3:7 esv
He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;
Lamentations 3:7 nlt
He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
He has bound me in heavy chains.
Lamentations 3 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lamentations 3:7 | He has walled up my paths; he has put darkness before me. | Lam 3:7 (Direct) |
| Psalm 88:8 | You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. | Ps 88:8 (Similar theme of confinement) |
| Job 19:8 | He has fenced up my way so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness about my paths. | Job 19:8 (Identical imagery) |
| Isaiah 42:7 | to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. | Isa 42:7 (Contrast of deliverance) |
| Jeremiah 15:15 | ...I have not sat in the assembly of jokers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation. | Jer 15:15 (Sitting alone) |
| Psalm 31:7 | I will rejoice and be glad in Your mercy, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul. | Ps 31:7 (Seeking God in distress) |
| Lamentations 3:9 | He has blocked my ways with dressed stone; he has made my paths crooked. | Lam 3:9 (Expansion of imagery) |
| Psalm 38:4 | For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. | Ps 38:4 (Burden of sin) |
| Jeremiah 20:10 | For I heard the slander of many – fear on every side! “Report,” they say, “and let us report it!” Even all my trusted friends watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced, and we can overcome him, and take our revenge on him.” | Jer 20:10 (Surrounded by enemies) |
| Psalm 30:11 | You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, | Ps 30:11 (God's turning things around) |
| Lamentations 1:13 | He sent fire from his height into my bones, and it overpowered them; he has spread a net for my feet; he has turned me back; he has made me desolate, broken. | Lam 1:13 (Net and desolation) |
| Psalm 142:7 | Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name; then the righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. | Ps 142:7 (Prayer for release) |
| Jeremiah 8:14 | Why do we sit here still? Gather yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has condemned us and given us poison to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. | Jer 8:14 (Sense of doom) |
| Job 16:11 | God has delivered me to the ungodly, and thrown me into the hands of the wicked. | Job 16:11 (Deliverance to enemies) |
| Lamentations 2:8 | The LORD plotted to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out a measuring line; he did not withhold his hand from destruction, and he did not spare her rampart; he made ramparts and walls lament; they together were brought down. | Lam 2:8 (God destroying walls) |
| Acts 26:17 | rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am now sending you | Acts 26:17 (God sending out) |
| Psalm 31:1 | In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me. | Ps 31:1 (Seeking refuge) |
| Psalm 49:14 | Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; their beauty shall become dust in Sheol. | Ps 49:14 (Darkness of death) |
| Habakkuk 3:11 | The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; at the light of your arrows they went, at the shining of your flashing spear. | Hab 3:11 (God's powerful action) |
| Jeremiah 30:17 | For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD, because they called you an outcasts, saying, "It is Zion, for whom no one cares!" | Jer 30:17 (Promise of healing) |
Lamentations 3 verses
Lamentations 3 7 Meaning
This verse expresses profound personal suffering and confinement. The prophet feels completely shut in, unable to escape his dire circumstances.
Lamentations 3 7 Context
Lamentations 3 describes the prophet Jeremiah's deep personal anguish and confession amidst the destruction of Jerusalem. He enumerates his afflictions, portraying himself as a target of God's wrath. Verse 7 is part of a longer passage where he describes feeling trapped and abandoned. This is within the broader context of Israel's sin and God's judgment. The prophet is expressing the extreme suffering of the people, personified in his own experience.
Lamentations 3 7 Word Analysis
He (Hebrew: הוּא - huʼ)
- Pronoun referring to God.
- Signifies direct divine action in the prophet's suffering.
has walled up (Hebrew: גָּדַר - gadar)
- Means to build a wall, to shut up, to surround.
- Implies a complete and inescapable barrier.
my paths (Hebrew: דַּרְכַּי - darkî)
- Plural form of 'derekh' meaning way, road, path, journey.
- Refers to the course of life, one's actions and destiny.
- The plural suggests all aspects of his life's journey are blocked.
he has put (Hebrew: שָׂם - sam)
- To set, place, put, lay.
- Indicates an intentional arrangement.
darkness (Hebrew: חֹשֶׁךְ - ḥōšeḵ)
- Literally darkness, obscurity.
- Metaphorically represents ignorance, despair, distress, and absence of God's favor.
before me (Hebrew: לְפָנַי - lĕp̱ānāy)
- Literally in front of me.
- Emphasizes the immediate, overwhelming presence of the darkness.
Group Analysis: "He has walled up my paths" presents a vivid image of complete incapacitation and lack of forward movement. "He has put darkness before me" highlights the psychological and spiritual consequence – a sense of hopeless future and disorientation. The conjunction of these phrases emphasizes an orchestrated, overwhelming situation of confinement and despair.
Lamentations 3 7 Bonus Section
The imagery of God "walling up" paths and putting "darkness" before His people is a severe description of divine judgment. While God ultimately desires deliverance, He can, in His sovereign judgment, restrict and obscure the path of those who have turned away from Him. This passage doesn't negate God's goodness but reflects the profound reality of His justice in response to sin. The personal language ("my paths," "before me") intensifies the emotional impact, demonstrating how divine action can lead to individual and national desolation when judgment falls.
Lamentations 3 7 Commentary
The verse graphically illustrates a state of complete entrapment and disorientation. The prophet feels as though God Himself has sealed off every avenue of escape and future progress. The "walls" are not physical barriers alone but represent all circumstances that prevent forward movement. "Darkness" signifies not just the absence of light, but a profound spiritual blindness and lack of hope, a state where understanding and direction are lost. This powerful imagery conveys the overwhelming depth of suffering and helplessness experienced by the prophet, and by extension, the nation in distress.