The form of chapter 3, while still an acrostic, is an individual lament (at least 3:1–20) and so differs from the communal laments that precede and follow it. Chapter 3 is the middle poem, with 3:1 exactly at the center of the book. In concept and intensity the first two chapters lead up to chapter 3, and the last two lead from it. As an individual lament it has the customary components of complaint, statement of confidence, and prayer. Although the summons to praise is absent, this individual lament can be compared with a similar genre in the psalms (e.g., Psalm 13) and Jeremiah 15:15–21. Yet the individual fades out; a group speaks in verses 40–47. Perhaps the poem was used as a responsive reading in worship. The individual lament becomes a prism through which to elaborate on the communa…
Processing Grief
Lamentations 3:1-66
Lamentations 3:1-66
One Volume
by Gary M. Burge
by Gary M. Burge
Baker Publishing Group, The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, by Gary M. Burge