Lamentations 3:36

36 to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve.

Lamentations 3:36 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 3:36

To subvert a man in his cause
A poor man, as the Targum, which aggravates it; as by courses and methods taken in an open court, so by secret underhand ways, to get the cause from him, and injure him in his property: the Lord approveth not;
or, "seeth not" F7; which some understand as spoken by wicked men, who do the above things, and flatter themselves that God sees not, and takes no notice of them, ( Ezekiel 9:9 ) ; and others read it interrogatively, "doth not the Lord see?" F8 he does; he sees all the actions of men, nothing is hid from him; but he sees not with approbation; he do not look upon such things with delight and pleasure, but with abhorrence, ( Habakkuk 1:13 ) . The Targum is,

``is it possible that it should not be revealed before the Lord?''

FOOTNOTES:

F7 (har al) "non vidit, vel videt", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin.
F8 "Non videret?" Piscator.

Lamentations 3:36 In-Context

34 To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to turn aside the right of a man in the presence of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve.
37 Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come?
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.