Psalms 34:22–35:1(v58)Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned. Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend…
Isaiah 41:10(v57)Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will…
James 4:8(v57)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Jeremiah 51:36(v58)Therefore Yahweh says: “Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
Psalms 103:4(v58)who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
Show all 59 cross-references
Isaiah 58:9(v57)Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away from among you the yoke,…
Psalms 71:23(v58)My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you!
Psalms 139:2(v63)You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
Isaiah 41:14(v57)Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Jeremiah 50:34(v58)Their Redeemer is strong: Yahweh of Armies is his name. He will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and…
Revelation 2:10(v57)Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be…
Job 34:28(v56)so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him. He heard the cry of the afflicted.
Psalms 43:1(v59)Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
Psalms 145:18(v57)Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Isaiah 38:5(v56)“Go, and tell Hezekiah, ‘Yahweh, the God of David your father, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add…
Isaiah 43:1-2(v57)But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel, says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by…
Jeremiah 11:19-20(v60)But I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they had devised plans against me, saying, “Let’s destroy the…
Lamentations 3:14(v63)I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.
Ezekiel 36:3(v62)therefore prophesy, and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side,…
Job 30:9(v63)“Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them.
Psalms 6:8-9(v56)Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping. Yahweh has heard my supplication. Yahweh accepts…
Psalms 34:6(v56)This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Psalms 55:1(v56)Listen to my prayer, God. Don’t hide yourself from my supplication.
Psalms 59:7(v62)Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For”, they say, “who hears us?”
Psalms 59:12(v62)For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.
Psalms 88:13-14(v56)But to you, Yahweh, I have cried. In the morning, my prayer comes before you. Yahweh, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face…
Psalms 89:50(v61)Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples,
Psalms 140:3(v62)They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips.
Lamentations 5:1(v61)Remember, Yahweh, what has come on us. Look, and see our reproach.
Zephaniah 2:8(v61)I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people, and magnified…
Acts 18:9(v57)The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent;
Acts 27:24(v57)saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
Genesis 31:42(v59)Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God…
Genesis 48:16(v58)the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and…
2 Chronicles 33:13(v56)He prayed to him; and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then…
Psalms 3:4(v56)I cry to Yahweh with my voice, and he answers me out of his holy hill.
Psalms 9:4(v59)For you have maintained my just cause. You sit on the throne judging righteously.
Psalms 10:14(v60)But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
Psalms 26:1(v59)Judge me, Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted also in Yahweh without wavering.
Psalms 35:1(v59)Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.
Psalms 66:19(v56)But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer.
Psalms 69:18(v57)Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies.
Psalms 74:18(v61)Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.
Psalms 116:1-2(v56)I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as…
Jeremiah 1:17(v57)“You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don’t be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you…
Lamentations 3:59(v60)Yahweh, you have seen my wrong. Judge my cause.
Romans 8:26(v56)In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession…
1 Peter 2:23(v59)When he was cursed, he didn’t curse back. When he suffered, he didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.
1 Samuel 25:39(v58)When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has…
2 Chronicles 33:19(v56)His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set…
Psalms 35:23(v59)Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!
Jeremiah 18:18-23(v59)Then they said, “Come! Let’s devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law won’t perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the…
Jeremiah 20:7-10(v59)Yahweh, you have persuaded me, and I was persuaded. You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day.…
Jeremiah 37:1-21(v59)Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the…
Lamentations 3:30(v61)Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him. Let him be filled full of reproach.
Revelation 1:17(v57)When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
Jeremiah 11:19-21(v59)But I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they had devised plans against me, saying, “Let’s destroy the…
Jeremiah 15:10(v59)Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have…
Jeremiah 18:18(v62)Then they said, “Come! Let’s devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law won’t perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv56–63When the Prophet says that God heard, it is…
When the Prophet says that God heard, it is the same as though he said, that he had so prayed that God became a witness of his earnestness and solicitude; for many boast in high terms of their earnestness and fervor and constancy in prayer, but their boastings are all empty and vain. But the Prophet summons God as a witness of his crying, as though he had said that he was not so overwhelmed by his adversity, but that he always fled to God.
He then says, Close not, etc.; it is properly, “hide not;” but as this is not quite suitable to ears, I am disposed to give this version, Close not thine ear to my cry. The verb רוח ruch, means to dilate, to respire; hence almost all render the noun here, “breathing;” but what follows cannot admit of this sense, to my prayer or cry. I have no doubt but that these two words mean crying; for in groaning the spirit of man dilates itself, and the soul, compressed by grief, expands. But 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. It follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v58Meaning, the cause wherefore his life was in danger.
Meaning, the cause wherefore his life was in danger.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv56–63Lam 3:56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not…
Lam 3:56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
Ver. 56. Thou hast heard my voice.] Seem a man’s case never so desperate, if he can but find a praying heart, God will find a pitying heart. Prayer is the best lever at a dead lift.
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Hide not thine ear at my breathing.] As breathing is a proof of animal life, so is prayer, though never so weak, of spiritual. If therefore you cannot speak, weep - fietu saepe agitur non affatu, tears also have a voice; {Psa 39:12} if you cannot weep, sigh - a storm of sighs may do as much as a shower of tears; if you cannot sigh, yet breathe, as here. God feels breath; and happy is he that can say, In te spero et respiro, In thee I hope, Lord, and after thee I breathe or pant.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv56–63I in former great afflictions applied myself unto thee,…
I in former great afflictions applied myself unto thee, and thou didst hear me; show me now the same favour. Our former experiences of God’s goodness to us in hearing our prayers ought to hold up our hands in prayer, mid beget a confidence in us that we, persisting in our duty, shall find God the same God, yesterday, this day, and for ever.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv56–60Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord,.... Their reproachful…
Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord,.... Their reproachful words uttered against the prophet and his people, against God himself; their spiteful language, their taunts, and scoffs and jeers:
and all their imaginations against me; those he not only saw, as they appeared in their actions; but heard them, as they were expressed by their words; yea, they were manifest to him, while they only were in silent thought forming in the mind.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv56, 58, 60, 63Heard - In former afflictions. Hide not - Shew…
Heard - In former afflictions. Hide not - Shew me now the same favour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv56, 57, 60Verse 56. Hide not thine ear at my breathing]…
Verse 56. Hide not thine ear at my breathing] He dared not even to complain, nor to cry, nor to pray aloud: he was obliged to whisper his prayer to God. It was only a breathing.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v59Lam 3:59-63. O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong…
Lam 3:59-63. O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong — Here the prophet adverts to his present sufferings, and the ill usage he met with, concerning which he appeals to God; as if he had said, Thou hast seen that I have done no wrong at all, but that I suffer a great deal. He that knows all things knew, 1st, The malice they had against him; thou hast seen, says he, all their vengeance — How they desire to do me a mischief, as if it were by way of reprisal for some great injury I had done them. 2d, The designs and projects they had laid to do him a mischief. Thou hast seen, Lam 3:60, and again, Lam 3:61, Thou hast heard, all their imaginations against me, both their desires and their devices to ruin me; these, whether they show themselves in word or deed, are perfectly known to thee. 3d, The contempt and calumny wherewith they loaded him, all that they spoke slightly, and all that they spoke reproachfully of him. Thou hast heard their reproach, Lam 3:61; all the ill characters they give me, laying to my charge things that I know not, all the methods that they use to make me odious and contemptible, even the lips of those that rose up against me, Lam 3:62; the contumelious language they use whenever they speak of me. Behold, their sitting down, &c. — That is, Behold at all times, whether they sit down or rise up, I am made the subject of their merriment, and their laughing-stock.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv59, 62, 63Judge what they have judged unjustly. (Worthington)
Judge what they have judged unjustly. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv56–63Thou hast heard--namely formerly (so in Lam 3:57-58).
Thou hast heard--namely formerly (so in Lam 3:57-58).
breathing . . . cry--two kinds of prayer; the sigh of a prayer silently breathed forth, and the loud, earnest cry (compare "prayer," "secret speech," Isa 26:16, Margin; with "cry aloud," Psa 55:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v5656. Hide not, etc. — Literally, hide not thine…
56. Hide not, etc. — Literally, hide not thine ear to my relief, to my cry: that is, turn not away from my cry.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 6356. The word rendered “breathing” occurs but once elsewhere…
56. The word rendered “breathing” occurs but once elsewhere (Exo_8:15 [Heb. Lam_3:11]), and has there the sense of respite, relief. Accordingly Ewald proposes (by a change of one consonant) to render my cry, and consider “at my cry” to be a gloss.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63(56) Thou hast heard . . . hide not…
(56) Thou hast heard . . . hide not thine . . .—There is something eminently suggestive in the sequence of the two clauses. The recollection that prayer was answered in the past, prompts its utterance in the present. Historically, the words may point to the intervention of Ebed-melech in Jer_38:7.
At my breathing—i.e., the “sighs” or “sobs” of the mourner.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63At my breathing; rather, at my sighing; literally, at…
At my breathing; rather, at my sighing; literally, at my relieving myself.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v59Lam_3:59. Trials are not things of the past only.…
EXEGETICAL NOTES.—
Lam_3:59. Trials are not things of the past only. Under their continuous pressure endurance is sought for in the truth that the eye and ear of the Lord are ever open for all sights and sounds. Thou, O Jehovah, hast seen my wrong, that which is done to me, and that sight forms a plea for the righteous sentence of Him who sitteth on the throne judging right.
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Lam_3:60. There was the keenest of vengeance in the treatment to which the Lord’s servant was subjected, and there were devices against me; but it was a certain fact that the All-seeing One had observed every secret or open scheme.
(ש) Lam_3:61. The revengeful, bad feeling expressed itself in reviling words. Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, and all the evil machinations they framed against me.
Lam_3:62 is a variant expression of the idea of the former verse, Thou hast heard the words of the lips of those that rose up against me, and their meditation, which occupied their minds all the day.
Lam_3:63. Their downsitting and their uprising behold thou, all their proceedings when at rest, and when they get up to do what they resolve. In hilarious and scornful mood they taunt and deride me; I am their song. It was not a momentary outburst of passion, not one hour’s lapse into jocoseness, but the tenor of the life which was manifested.
(ת) Lam_3:64. The evil life cannot pass without condemnation. Thou wilt render a recompense to them, O Jehovah. A man may pray that revilings and machinations may be thwarted, not from a desire for personal revenge, but from the knowledge that striving with the Maker incurs guilt and fixes the destiny of the striver according to the work of their hands, reaping what they sow (2Ti_4:14).
Lam_3:65. Thou wilt give them blindness [Heb. a covering] of heart, that which is turned into a veil (2Co_3:14) by their not becoming sons of the light, by their walking in darkness into the ditch. Thy curse to them. Cursed be the man who maketh flesh his arm.
Lam_3:66. Evil shall slay the wicked. Thou wilt pursue them in anger and destroy them, so that the wicked may be no more in Thy dominion under the heavens of Jehovah. So let thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, and thy will be done, at in heaven so on earth.
HOMILETICS
A CONFIDENT APPEAL TO DIVINE JUSTICE
(Lam_3:59-66)
I. That Jehovah recognises the wrongs suffered by His servants. “O Lord, Thou has seen ray wrong; judge Thou my cause” (Lam_3:59). It seemed at times as if the chosen people were forgotten and left to the mercy of their oppressors. Years passed away, and still there was no prospect of rescue. The valiant stand made by the prophet involved him in great and unjust suffering, and it seemed as if Heaven was indifferent to the issue. But things are not what they seem. All the time the eye of Jehovah was watching the struggle and noting every act of injustice and wrong. Every pang of suffering is faithfully registered. When the soul is conscious that Jehovah is cognisant of its distress, it is nerved with courage and patiently waits God’s time of deliverance.
II. That Jehovah infallibly observes the cruel plottings and malicious reproaches of His people’s enemies. “Thou hast seen all their vengeance. Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me,” &c. (Lam_3:60-63). Not a single movement, not a word of scorn of His enemies escapes the eye and the ear of Jehovah. How vain and foolish their opposition appears to Him! Their cleverest combinations are but the work of helpless imbecility; their wildest rage is but a momentary flash of aimless malignity. In a moment their schemes are shattered and their revilings for ever silenced. God is so strong in conscious righteousness that He can afford to bide His time. It is a mistake to regard His long-suffering patience as a sign of apathy.
III. That Jehovah will vindicate the wrongs of His servants by punishing their oppressors. “Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands,” &c. (Lam_3:64-66). The imprecatory form of these words are uttered by Jeremiah in his prophetical character. He calls for the vengeance upon his enemies which their iniquities have deserved, and which Divine Justice is certain to render. The versions and the Targum all render these verses not as imperatives, but as futures—Thou shalt render unto them a recompense, &c. It is an unalterable principle of the Divine government to punish all evil-doers. The sufferings they have inflicted on others shall be meted out to them with swift and terrible retribution. “Under the heavens of the Lord” there is no place of escape for the workers of iniquity. The wrongs of God’s servants shall be redressed, and His honour and justice universally vindicated.
LESSONS.—
1. The Divine patience with evil-doers must not be construed as meaning indifference, 2 It is an aggravation of suffering when we know it is unjust.
3. Vengeance against all workers of iniquity may be safely left in the hands of God.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Lam_3:59-63. The Divine slowness to punish. I. Does not arise from indifference to human wrongs. “Thou has seen my wrong” (Lam_3:59). II. Is not from want of knowledge of all the actions of the wicked (Lam_3:60-63). III. Indicates that God is so strong and man is so weak. IV. Affords every opportunity for the exercise of mercy to the truly penitent.
Lam_3:63. A godly life the music of society. I. Like music, a godly life is harmonious.
1. It is in harmony with God. A pure manhood is in harmony with all that is Godlike in thought and sentiment, and with all that is Christly in character and work. It is in harmony with the works of God, with all that is beautiful in nature. It is in harmony with the providence of God, with all that is happy or sad in the discipline of life; and supremely it is in harmony with the inspired truth of God as revealed in history, character, and precept.
2. It is in harmony with itself. All the truer sympathies of a devout heart, all the higher faculties of a pure mind exist in a condition of self-harmony. Living in communion with the Supreme Being, the good man obtains true concord in the exercise of prayer. And thus attuned by devotion, every power of his soul joins in the hymn of life.
3. It is in harmony with the highest good of the race. A godly man is ever the foremost to aid any philanthropic enterprise for the real welfare of others. All the strongest impulses of his nature prompt him to sympathetic action for the unfortunate. Consequently his time, money, and influence are made subservient to the common good of men. II. Like music, a godly life is cheering. When we have been oppressed with care, when the great mystery of life has come heavily upon our souls, what hope and comfort have been imparted by contact with a happy, pious spirit. III. Like music, a godly life is inspiring. When men would have given up the conflict of life in despair, how often has the word and life of a Christian filled them with new courage; and how frequently are careless souls awakened to a sense of duty by the moral earnestness of the godly around them. IV. Like music, a godly life is calming. What a quieting influence has the life of a good man upon those around him. His presence subdues anger; by his smile the deepest unrest is removed. He calms the passions of the unholy and soothes the sorrow of the troubled. V. Are our lives morally musical? Are they in harmony with God and all His works? Are our dispositions in the home, in business, and in the varied scenes of life kindly? If so, then are we the joy, the inspiration, and the quietude of many lives around us that might otherwise be sad, monotonous, and unpeaceful.—The Lay Preacher.
Lam_3:64-66. Divine punishment: I. Is proportioned to human sin. “A recompense according to the work of their hands” (Lam_3:64). II. Afflicts the chief instrument of human sin. “Give them sorrow of heart” (Lam_3:65)—blindness of heart, obstinacy, hardness. III. Is an appalling reality. “Persecute and destroy them in anger” (Lam_3:66).
Lam_3:65. God can entangle the head that thinks itself clearest, and sink the heart that thinks itself stoutest.
ILLUSTRATIONS.—It is best always to do justly. Writing on the question of just treatment between the Southern and Northern States of America, and especially of the black race, G. W. Cable said: “But it is sometimes said, Will not this tend eventually to amalgamation? Idle question! Will it help the matter to withhold men’s manifest rights? What can we do better for the remotest future than to be just in the present, and leave the rest to the Divine Rewarder of nations that walk uprightly?”
Justice between man and man. The doctrine which bases all the relations of employer and employed upon self-interest is a doctrine of the pit; it has been bringing hell to earth in large instalments for a great many years. You can have hell in your factory, or you can have heaven there, just as you please. If it is hell that you want, build your business on the law of hell, which is—Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost. Out of that will come fightings perennial and unrelenting. If it is heaven that you want, then build your business on the law of the kingdom of heaven, which is—Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. That will put you in the path of peace.
Religion and justice. In the year 813 the Doge Angelo Participazio took vigorous means for the enlargement of the small group of buildings which were to be the nucleus of the future Venice. For the offices of religion he built the church of St. Mark, and on or near the spot where the Ducal Palace now stands he built a palace for the administration of justice. Observe that piety towards God and justice towards man have been at least the nominal purposes of every act and institution of ancient Venice.—Ruskin.
Wrong-doing brings its own retribution. Cosimo I., of Florence, was a ferocious, cruel tyrant, murdering his own son in the presence of his mother. After a few years he married a wicked but beautiful woman, who had been a former partner in sin with him, and in his last days, broken with decrepitude, was helpless in her despotic hands. For two years after the palsy had deprived him of speech or movement, he lay dying, bereft of everything but a torturing memory of his cruelty and wickedness.
—The Jews have a tradition that Cain was doomed to carry Abel’s corpse for a hundred years.
The just and the unjust. Such being our unjust man, let us place by his side a man of true simplicity and nobleness, resolved, as Æschylus says, not to seem, but to be good. We must certainly take away the seeming; for if he be thought to be a just man, he will have honours and gifts on the strength of this reputation, so that it will be uncertain whether it is for justice’s sake or for the sake of the gifts and honours that he is what he is. Yes, we must strip him bare of everything but justice, and make his case the reverse of the former. Without being guilty of one unjust act, let him have the worst reputation for injustice, so that his virtue may be thoroughly tested and shown to be proof against infamy and all its consequences; and let him go on to the day of his death steadfast in his justice, but with a lifelong reputation for injustice. They who prefer injustice above justice will say that in such a situation the just man will be scourged, racked, fettered, will have his eyes burnt out, and at last, after suffering every kind of torture, will be crucified; and thus learn that it is best to resolve, not to be, but to seem just.—Plato’s Republic.
Injustice not to be hastily resented. When Aristides, the Athenian general, sat to arbitrate a difference between two persons, one of them said, “This fellow accused thee at such a time.” To whom Aristides answered, “I sit not to hear what he has done against me, but against thee.” That was a noble reply of Philip the Good when urged by his courtiers to punish a prelate who had done him great injustice, he declined, saying, “It is a fine thing to have revenge in one’s power; but it is a finer thing not to use it.”
God frustrates the schemes of the wicked. All the plots and contrivances of wicked men, all their turning of things upside down, are treated as the potter’s clay; for when they think they have brought all to maturity, ripeness, and perfection, when they look upon their business as good as done, on a sudden all their labour is lost; for God, who stands by all the while and looks on, will, with one small touch, with the least breath of His mouth, blast and break all in pieces.—Edlin.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v58Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20")…
redeemed
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20") .
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv58, 62you defended my case, you saved my life
you defended my case, you saved my life
The author speaks of God keeping him from being killed by his enemies as if God had defended him in court as a lawyer defends someone, and kept him from being killed. AT: "you saved my life from my enemies. It is as though you defended me in court" (See: Metaphor)
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you defended my case
Here "defended my case" represents arguing for him. AT: "you argued my case for me" (See: Metaphor)
judge my case
Here God is no longer pictured as a lawyer, but as the judge. It can be stated clearly that he wanted God to judge in his favor. AT: "make a decision about me, and show my enemies that I am right" (See: Metaphor and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
You have seen their insults, all their plots against me
The abstract nouns "insults" and "plots" can be expressed with verbs. AT: "You have seen how they have insulted me and how they have plotted against me many times" (See: Abstract Nouns)
You have heard their scorn ... and all their plans regarding me
The abstract noun "scorn" can be expressed with the verbs "taunt" or "mock." It can be stated clearly that the plans were to harm him. AT: "You heard how they have taunted me ... and all they plan to do to me" or "You have heard them mock me ... and plan ways to harm me" (See: Abstract Nouns)
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv56–63 When the Prophet says that God heard, it is…
When the Prophet says that God heard, it is the same as though he said, that he had so prayed that God became a witness of his earnestness and solicitude; for many boast in high terms of their earnestness and fervor and constancy in prayer, but their boastings are all empty and vain. But the Prophet summons God as a witness of his crying, as though he had said that he was not so overwhelmed by his adversity, but that he always fled to God.
He then says, Close not, etc.; it is properly, “hide not;” but as this is not quite suitable to ears, I am disposed to give this version, Close not thine ear to my cry. The verb רוח ruch, means to dilate, to respire; hence almost all render the noun here, “breathing;” but what follows cannot admit of this sense, to my prayer or cry. I have no doubt but that these two words mean crying; for in groaning the spirit of man dilates itself, and the soul, compressed by grief, expands. But 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. It follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v58 Meaning, the cause wherefore his life was in danger.
Meaning, the cause wherefore his life was in danger.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv56–63 Lam 3:56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not…
Lam 3:56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
Ver. 56. Thou hast heard my voice.] Seem a man’s case never so desperate, if he can but find a praying heart, God will find a pitying heart. Prayer is the best lever at a dead lift.
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Hide not thine ear at my breathing.] As breathing is a proof of animal life, so is prayer, though never so weak, of spiritual. If therefore you cannot speak, weep - fietu saepe agitur non affatu, tears also have a voice; {Psa 39:12} if you cannot weep, sigh - a storm of sighs may do as much as a shower of tears; if you cannot sigh, yet breathe, as here. God feels breath; and happy is he that can say, In te spero et respiro, In thee I hope, Lord, and after thee I breathe or pant.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv56–63 I in former great afflictions applied myself unto thee,…
I in former great afflictions applied myself unto thee, and thou didst hear me; show me now the same favour. Our former experiences of God’s goodness to us in hearing our prayers ought to hold up our hands in prayer, mid beget a confidence in us that we, persisting in our duty, shall find God the same God, yesterday, this day, and for ever.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv56–60 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord,.... Their reproachful…
Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord,.... Their reproachful words uttered against the prophet and his people, against God himself; their spiteful language, their taunts, and scoffs and jeers:
and all their imaginations against me; those he not only saw, as they appeared in their actions; but heard them, as they were expressed by their words; yea, they were manifest to him, while they only were in silent thought forming in the mind.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv56, 58, 60, 63 Heard - In former afflictions. Hide not - Shew…
Heard - In former afflictions. Hide not - Shew me now the same favour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv56, 57, 60 Verse 56. Hide not thine ear at my breathing]…
Verse 56. Hide not thine ear at my breathing] He dared not even to complain, nor to cry, nor to pray aloud: he was obliged to whisper his prayer to God. It was only a breathing.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v59 Lam 3:59-63. O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong…
Lam 3:59-63. O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong — Here the prophet adverts to his present sufferings, and the ill usage he met with, concerning which he appeals to God; as if he had said, Thou hast seen that I have done no wrong at all, but that I suffer a great deal. He that knows all things knew, 1st, The malice they had against him; thou hast seen, says he, all their vengeance — How they desire to do me a mischief, as if it were by way of reprisal for some great injury I had done them. 2d, The designs and projects they had laid to do him a mischief. Thou hast seen, Lam 3:60, and again, Lam 3:61, Thou hast heard, all their imaginations against me, both their desires and their devices to ruin me; these, whether they show themselves in word or deed, are perfectly known to thee. 3d, The contempt and calumny wherewith they loaded him, all that they spoke slightly, and all that they spoke reproachfully of him. Thou hast heard their reproach, Lam 3:61; all the ill characters they give me, laying to my charge things that I know not, all the methods that they use to make me odious and contemptible, even the lips of those that rose up against me, Lam 3:62; the contumelious language they use whenever they speak of me. Behold, their sitting down, &c. — That is, Behold at all times, whether they sit down or rise up, I am made the subject of their merriment, and their laughing-stock.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv59, 62, 63 Judge what they have judged unjustly. (Worthington)
Judge what they have judged unjustly. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv56–63 Thou hast heard--namely formerly (so in Lam 3:57-58).
Thou hast heard--namely formerly (so in Lam 3:57-58).
breathing . . . cry--two kinds of prayer; the sigh of a prayer silently breathed forth, and the loud, earnest cry (compare "prayer," "secret speech," Isa 26:16, Margin; with "cry aloud," Psa 55:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v56 56. Hide not, etc. — Literally, hide not thine…
56. Hide not, etc. — Literally, hide not thine ear to my relief, to my cry: that is, turn not away from my cry.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63 56. The word rendered “breathing” occurs but once elsewhere…
56. The word rendered “breathing” occurs but once elsewhere (Exo_8:15 [Heb. Lam_3:11]), and has there the sense of respite, relief. Accordingly Ewald proposes (by a change of one consonant) to render my cry, and consider “at my cry” to be a gloss.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63 (56) Thou hast heard . . . hide not…
(56) Thou hast heard . . . hide not thine . . .—There is something eminently suggestive in the sequence of the two clauses. The recollection that prayer was answered in the past, prompts its utterance in the present. Historically, the words may point to the intervention of Ebed-melech in Jer_38:7.
At my breathing—i.e., the “sighs” or “sobs” of the mourner.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63 At my breathing; rather, at my sighing; literally, at…
At my breathing; rather, at my sighing; literally, at my relieving myself.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v59 Lam_3:59. Trials are not things of the past only.…
EXEGETICAL NOTES.—
Lam_3:59. Trials are not things of the past only. Under their continuous pressure endurance is sought for in the truth that the eye and ear of the Lord are ever open for all sights and sounds. Thou, O Jehovah, hast seen my wrong, that which is done to me, and that sight forms a plea for the righteous sentence of Him who sitteth on the throne judging right.
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Lam_3:60. There was the keenest of vengeance in the treatment to which the Lord’s servant was subjected, and there were devices against me; but it was a certain fact that the All-seeing One had observed every secret or open scheme.
(ש) Lam_3:61. The revengeful, bad feeling expressed itself in reviling words. Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, and all the evil machinations they framed against me.
Lam_3:62 is a variant expression of the idea of the former verse, Thou hast heard the words of the lips of those that rose up against me, and their meditation, which occupied their minds all the day.
Lam_3:63. Their downsitting and their uprising behold thou, all their proceedings when at rest, and when they get up to do what they resolve. In hilarious and scornful mood they taunt and deride me; I am their song. It was not a momentary outburst of passion, not one hour’s lapse into jocoseness, but the tenor of the life which was manifested.
(ת) Lam_3:64. The evil life cannot pass without condemnation. Thou wilt render a recompense to them, O Jehovah. A man may pray that revilings and machinations may be thwarted, not from a desire for personal revenge, but from the knowledge that striving with the Maker incurs guilt and fixes the destiny of the striver according to the work of their hands, reaping what they sow (2Ti_4:14).
Lam_3:65. Thou wilt give them blindness [Heb. a covering] of heart, that which is turned into a veil (2Co_3:14) by their not becoming sons of the light, by their walking in darkness into the ditch. Thy curse to them. Cursed be the man who maketh flesh his arm.
Lam_3:66. Evil shall slay the wicked. Thou wilt pursue them in anger and destroy them, so that the wicked may be no more in Thy dominion under the heavens of Jehovah. So let thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, and thy will be done, at in heaven so on earth.
HOMILETICS
A CONFIDENT APPEAL TO DIVINE JUSTICE
(Lam_3:59-66)
I. That Jehovah recognises the wrongs suffered by His servants. “O Lord, Thou has seen ray wrong; judge Thou my cause” (Lam_3:59). It seemed at times as if the chosen people were forgotten and left to the mercy of their oppressors. Years passed away, and still there was no prospect of rescue. The valiant stand made by the prophet involved him in great and unjust suffering, and it seemed as if Heaven was indifferent to the issue. But things are not what they seem. All the time the eye of Jehovah was watching the struggle and noting every act of injustice and wrong. Every pang of suffering is faithfully registered. When the soul is conscious that Jehovah is cognisant of its distress, it is nerved with courage and patiently waits God’s time of deliverance.
II. That Jehovah infallibly observes the cruel plottings and malicious reproaches of His people’s enemies. “Thou hast seen all their vengeance. Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me,” &c. (Lam_3:60-63). Not a single movement, not a word of scorn of His enemies escapes the eye and the ear of Jehovah. How vain and foolish their opposition appears to Him! Their cleverest combinations are but the work of helpless imbecility; their wildest rage is but a momentary flash of aimless malignity. In a moment their schemes are shattered and their revilings for ever silenced. God is so strong in conscious righteousness that He can afford to bide His time. It is a mistake to regard His long-suffering patience as a sign of apathy.
III. That Jehovah will vindicate the wrongs of His servants by punishing their oppressors. “Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands,” &c. (Lam_3:64-66). The imprecatory form of these words are uttered by Jeremiah in his prophetical character. He calls for the vengeance upon his enemies which their iniquities have deserved, and which Divine Justice is certain to render. The versions and the Targum all render these verses not as imperatives, but as futures—Thou shalt render unto them a recompense, &c. It is an unalterable principle of the Divine government to punish all evil-doers. The sufferings they have inflicted on others shall be meted out to them with swift and terrible retribution. “Under the heavens of the Lord” there is no place of escape for the workers of iniquity. The wrongs of God’s servants shall be redressed, and His honour and justice universally vindicated.
LESSONS.—
1. The Divine patience with evil-doers must not be construed as meaning indifference, 2 It is an aggravation of suffering when we know it is unjust.
3. Vengeance against all workers of iniquity may be safely left in the hands of God.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Lam_3:59-63. The Divine slowness to punish. I. Does not arise from indifference to human wrongs. “Thou has seen my wrong” (Lam_3:59). II. Is not from want of knowledge of all the actions of the wicked (Lam_3:60-63). III. Indicates that God is so strong and man is so weak. IV. Affords every opportunity for the exercise of mercy to the truly penitent.
Lam_3:63. A godly life the music of society. I. Like music, a godly life is harmonious.
1. It is in harmony with God. A pure manhood is in harmony with all that is Godlike in thought and sentiment, and with all that is Christly in character and work. It is in harmony with the works of God, with all that is beautiful in nature. It is in harmony with the providence of God, with all that is happy or sad in the discipline of life; and supremely it is in harmony with the inspired truth of God as revealed in history, character, and precept.
2. It is in harmony with itself. All the truer sympathies of a devout heart, all the higher faculties of a pure mind exist in a condition of self-harmony. Living in communion with the Supreme Being, the good man obtains true concord in the exercise of prayer. And thus attuned by devotion, every power of his soul joins in the hymn of life.
3. It is in harmony with the highest good of the race. A godly man is ever the foremost to aid any philanthropic enterprise for the real welfare of others. All the strongest impulses of his nature prompt him to sympathetic action for the unfortunate. Consequently his time, money, and influence are made subservient to the common good of men. II. Like music, a godly life is cheering. When we have been oppressed with care, when the great mystery of life has come heavily upon our souls, what hope and comfort have been imparted by contact with a happy, pious spirit. III. Like music, a godly life is inspiring. When men would have given up the conflict of life in despair, how often has the word and life of a Christian filled them with new courage; and how frequently are careless souls awakened to a sense of duty by the moral earnestness of the godly around them. IV. Like music, a godly life is calming. What a quieting influence has the life of a good man upon those around him. His presence subdues anger; by his smile the deepest unrest is removed. He calms the passions of the unholy and soothes the sorrow of the troubled. V. Are our lives morally musical? Are they in harmony with God and all His works? Are our dispositions in the home, in business, and in the varied scenes of life kindly? If so, then are we the joy, the inspiration, and the quietude of many lives around us that might otherwise be sad, monotonous, and unpeaceful.—The Lay Preacher.
Lam_3:64-66. Divine punishment: I. Is proportioned to human sin. “A recompense according to the work of their hands” (Lam_3:64). II. Afflicts the chief instrument of human sin. “Give them sorrow of heart” (Lam_3:65)—blindness of heart, obstinacy, hardness. III. Is an appalling reality. “Persecute and destroy them in anger” (Lam_3:66).
Lam_3:65. God can entangle the head that thinks itself clearest, and sink the heart that thinks itself stoutest.
ILLUSTRATIONS.—It is best always to do justly. Writing on the question of just treatment between the Southern and Northern States of America, and especially of the black race, G. W. Cable said: “But it is sometimes said, Will not this tend eventually to amalgamation? Idle question! Will it help the matter to withhold men’s manifest rights? What can we do better for the remotest future than to be just in the present, and leave the rest to the Divine Rewarder of nations that walk uprightly?”
Justice between man and man. The doctrine which bases all the relations of employer and employed upon self-interest is a doctrine of the pit; it has been bringing hell to earth in large instalments for a great many years. You can have hell in your factory, or you can have heaven there, just as you please. If it is hell that you want, build your business on the law of hell, which is—Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost. Out of that will come fightings perennial and unrelenting. If it is heaven that you want, then build your business on the law of the kingdom of heaven, which is—Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. That will put you in the path of peace.
Religion and justice. In the year 813 the Doge Angelo Participazio took vigorous means for the enlargement of the small group of buildings which were to be the nucleus of the future Venice. For the offices of religion he built the church of St. Mark, and on or near the spot where the Ducal Palace now stands he built a palace for the administration of justice. Observe that piety towards God and justice towards man have been at least the nominal purposes of every act and institution of ancient Venice.—Ruskin.
Wrong-doing brings its own retribution. Cosimo I., of Florence, was a ferocious, cruel tyrant, murdering his own son in the presence of his mother. After a few years he married a wicked but beautiful woman, who had been a former partner in sin with him, and in his last days, broken with decrepitude, was helpless in her despotic hands. For two years after the palsy had deprived him of speech or movement, he lay dying, bereft of everything but a torturing memory of his cruelty and wickedness.
—The Jews have a tradition that Cain was doomed to carry Abel’s corpse for a hundred years.
The just and the unjust. Such being our unjust man, let us place by his side a man of true simplicity and nobleness, resolved, as Æschylus says, not to seem, but to be good. We must certainly take away the seeming; for if he be thought to be a just man, he will have honours and gifts on the strength of this reputation, so that it will be uncertain whether it is for justice’s sake or for the sake of the gifts and honours that he is what he is. Yes, we must strip him bare of everything but justice, and make his case the reverse of the former. Without being guilty of one unjust act, let him have the worst reputation for injustice, so that his virtue may be thoroughly tested and shown to be proof against infamy and all its consequences; and let him go on to the day of his death steadfast in his justice, but with a lifelong reputation for injustice. They who prefer injustice above justice will say that in such a situation the just man will be scourged, racked, fettered, will have his eyes burnt out, and at last, after suffering every kind of torture, will be crucified; and thus learn that it is best to resolve, not to be, but to seem just.—Plato’s Republic.
Injustice not to be hastily resented. When Aristides, the Athenian general, sat to arbitrate a difference between two persons, one of them said, “This fellow accused thee at such a time.” To whom Aristides answered, “I sit not to hear what he has done against me, but against thee.” That was a noble reply of Philip the Good when urged by his courtiers to punish a prelate who had done him great injustice, he declined, saying, “It is a fine thing to have revenge in one’s power; but it is a finer thing not to use it.”
God frustrates the schemes of the wicked. All the plots and contrivances of wicked men, all their turning of things upside down, are treated as the potter’s clay; for when they think they have brought all to maturity, ripeness, and perfection, when they look upon their business as good as done, on a sudden all their labour is lost; for God, who stands by all the while and looks on, will, with one small touch, with the least breath of His mouth, blast and break all in pieces.—Edlin.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v58 Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20")…
redeemed
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20") .
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv58, 62 you defended my case, you saved my life
you defended my case, you saved my life
The author speaks of God keeping him from being killed by his enemies as if God had defended him in court as a lawyer defends someone, and kept him from being killed. AT: "you saved my life from my enemies. It is as though you defended me in court" (See: Metaphor)
Read full note →
you defended my case
Here "defended my case" represents arguing for him. AT: "you argued my case for me" (See: Metaphor)
judge my case
Here God is no longer pictured as a lawyer, but as the judge. It can be stated clearly that he wanted God to judge in his favor. AT: "make a decision about me, and show my enemies that I am right" (See: Metaphor and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
You have seen their insults, all their plots against me
The abstract nouns "insults" and "plots" can be expressed with verbs. AT: "You have seen how they have insulted me and how they have plotted against me many times" (See: Abstract Nouns)
You have heard their scorn ... and all their plans regarding me
The abstract noun "scorn" can be expressed with the verbs "taunt" or "mock." It can be stated clearly that the plans were to harm him. AT: "You heard how they have taunted me ... and all they plan to do to me" or "You have heard them mock me ... and plan ways to harm me" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
lord
trial
save
Yahweh
oppress
judge
avenge
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v58 3:58-66 Jerusalem deserved punishment, but the enemies carried it…
3:58-66 Jerusalem deserved punishment, but the enemies carried it out with undeserved cruelty. The writer calls upon God to punish them.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.