Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
Read it in contextGod’s Justice
Start reading at Lamentations 3:37 (Lamentations 3:37 to Lamentations 3:66).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
This unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. Individual affliction gives way to remembrance of the LORD's mercies, self-examination, and further appeals for help and justice.
3:37Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
3:38Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
3:39Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
3:40Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
3:41Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
3:42We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.
3:43Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.
3:44Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.
3:45Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.
3:46All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
3:47Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.
3:48Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
3:49Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
3:50Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.
3:51Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.
3:52Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
3:53They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.
3:54Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
3:55I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.
3:56Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
3:57Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
3:58O LORD, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.
3:59O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.
3:60Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.
3:61Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;
3:62The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
3:63Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.
3:64Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
3:65Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.
3:66Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.
Study content, not yet reviewed.
Who
Who wrote the book? Jeremiah is the traditional author. The poems themselves do not identify their writer, so the personal attribution remains uncertain. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). traditionally held
Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Lamentations 3:1–3:66): The afflicted speaker recounts suffering, speaks to hearers about hope, and joins the community in addressing the LORD. stated in the text
Who was the book written to? The devastated people of Judah and Jerusalem mourning the city's destruction, and the community preserving that lament and appeal to God. Biblical references: Lamentations 1:1; Lamentations 2:10; Lamentations 5:1. book background
What
What is the topic of this reading unit? God’s Justice. Read Lamentations 3:37 through Lamentations 3:66 as a connected unit. interpretation
How does it contribute to the book? This unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. Individual affliction gives way to remembrance of the LORD's mercies, self-examination, and further appeals for help and justice. interpretation
When
When are the events or message set? The poems concern Jerusalem's devastation and its aftermath. They do not supply a composition date or name their author within the text. book background
Where
What is the book’s geographic setting? Jerusalem's ruined condition and the people's suffering form the setting, while individual and communal voices describe that distress. book background
Where does the context start?
This passage sits in God’s Justice (Lamentations 3:37 to Lamentations 3:66).
Start reading at Lamentations 3:37. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? The lament over Jerusalem can be compared with Jesus' lament for the city. The comparison joins grief and accountability without making every speaker in Lamentations a direct prophetic portrait of Jesus. See Lamentations 1:1, Luke 19:41, Luke 19:44. interpretation
How should this book guide our response? Make room for truthful lament, confession, and prayer in devastation. Hope in mercy does not require pretending that suffering is small or that every question has been resolved. interpretation
Cited: Lamentations 3:37, Lamentations 3:66, Lamentations 1:1, Luke 19:41, Luke 19:44
Who wrote it, and how we know
Jeremiah (traditional)From early tradition
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author. Chronicles records that Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:25
Early traditionThe Greek translation and early tradition name Jeremiah.
What is debatedAuthorship is not stated in the book itself.
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Lamentations 3
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Lamentations consists of poetic laments over Jerusalem's devastation. The book does not name its author. Shifts between the city's voice, an individual sufferer, and communal prayer must be respected. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Connection to the wholeThis opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Individual affliction gives way to remembrance of the LORD's mercies, self-examination, and further appeals for help and justice.
Connection to the wholeIndividual affliction gives way to remembrance of the LORD's mercies, self-examination, and further appeals for help and justice.
Connection to the wholeThis unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. Individual affliction gives way to remembrance of the LORD's mercies, self-examination, and further appeals for help and justice.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Lamentations
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Lamentations consists of poetic laments over Jerusalem's devastation. The book does not name its author. Shifts between the city's voice, an individual sufferer, and communal prayer must be respected.
Connection to the wholeIndividual affliction gives way to remembrance of the LORD's mercies, self-examination, and further appeals for help and justice.
Connection to the wholeThe closing communal prayer brings the people's condition before the LORD and asks for restoration without supplying a simple narrative resolution.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.