Lamentations 3:7

7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy.

Lamentations 3:7 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 3:7

He hath hedged me about, that I cannot go out
When in prison, or in the dungeon, or during the siege of Jerusalem; though the phrase may only denote in general the greatness of his troubles, with which he was encompassed, and how inextricable they were; like a hedge about a vineyard, or a wall about a city, which could not easily be got over: he hath made my chain heavy;
his affliction intolerable. It is a metaphor taken from malefactors that have heavy chains put upon their legs, that they may not make their escape out of prison: or, "my brass" {g}; that is, chains, or a chain made of brass; so the Targum,

``he hath made heavy upon my feet fetters of brass.''

---

FOOTNOTES:

F7 (ytvxn) (calkon mou) Sept. "aes meum, [vel] chalybem meum", Piscator.

Lamentations 3:7 In-Context

5 He has besieged me And surrounded me with bitterness and woe.

6 He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago.

7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy.

8 Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer.

9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.