Lamentations 3:16
Lamentations 3:16 in Multiple Translations
He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes.
By him my teeth have been broken with crushed stones, and I am bent low in the dust.
He has broken my teeth with grit; he has trampled me in the dust.
He hath also broken my teeth with stones, and hath couered me with ashes.
And He breaketh with gravel my teeth, He hath covered me with ashes.
He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
Vau. And he hath broken my teeth one by one, he hath fed me with ashes.
It is as though he has caused me to chew gravel that broke my teeth, and he has trampled me in the dirt.
Berean Amplified Bible — Lamentations 3:16
BAB
Word Study
Hover over any word to see its amplified meaning. Click a word to explore its full definition and translation comparisons.
Amplified text is generated using scripting to tie together English translations for comparison. Always refer to the core BSB translation and original Hebrew/Greek text for accuracy. Anomalies may occur.
Lamentations 3:16 Interlinear (Deep Study)
BIB
HEB
וַ/יַּגְרֵ֤ס
בֶּֽ/חָצָץ֙
שִׁנָּ֔/י
הִכְפִּישַׁ֖/נִי
בָּ/אֵֽפֶר
וַ/יַּגְרֵ֤ס
gâraç
H1638
to break
Conj | V-Hiphil-ConsecImperf-3ms
בֶּֽ/חָצָץ֙
châtsâts
H2687
gravel
Prep | N-ms
שִׁנָּ֔/י
shên
H8127
tooth
N-cd | Suff
הִכְפִּישַׁ֖/נִי
kâphash
H3728
to cower
V-Hiphil-Perf-3ms | Suff
בָּ/אֵֽפֶר
ʼêpher
H665
ashes
Prep | N-ms
Hebrew Word Study
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Hebrew Word Reference — Lamentations 3:16
וַ/יַּגְרֵ֤ס
gâraç
H1638
"to break"
Conj | V-Hiphil-ConsecImperf-3ms
To break or crush something means to destroy it, like in the book of Psalms. This word can also mean to dissolve or lose strength. The KJV Bible translates it as break.
Definition: 1) to be crushed, be broken 1a) (Qal) to be crushed 1b) (Hiphil) to crush, break (the teeth)
Usage: Occurs in 2 OT verses. KJV: break. See also: Psalms 119:20; Lamentations 3:16.
בֶּֽ/חָצָץ֙
châtsâts
H2687
"gravel"
Prep | N-ms
Gravel or small stones are what this word refers to, like sharp grit. In the Bible, it is also used to describe an arrow, as in Genesis 49:23. The word highlights something cutting or sharp.
Definition: gravel
Usage: Occurs in 3 OT verses. KJV: arrow, gravel (stone). See also: Psalms 77:18; Proverbs 20:17; Lamentations 3:16.
שִׁנָּ֔/י
shên
H8127
"tooth"
N-cd | Suff
The Hebrew word for tooth can also mean ivory or a sharp cliff. It is used in the Bible to describe the teeth of humans and animals, as well as sharp rocks, and is often translated as tooth or ivory.
Definition: : tooth 1) tooth, ivory 1a) tooth 1a1) of man, lex talionis, beast 1b) tooth, tine (of fork) 1c) ivory 1c1) as material 1c2) of commerce 1d) sharp pointed rock
Usage: Occurs in 48 OT verses. KJV: crag, [idiom] forefront, ivory, [idiom] sharp, tooth. See also: Genesis 49:12; Psalms 57:5; Psalms 3:8.
הִכְפִּישַׁ֖/נִי
kâphash
H3728
"to cower"
V-Hiphil-Perf-3ms | Suff
To cower or humiliate, meaning to tread down or bend someone low. In the Bible, it can mean to cover or overwhelm. This concept appears in various books, including the prophets.
Definition: 1) (Hiphil) to make bent, press or bend together 2) (CLBL) to bend down 2a) (Hiphil) to cause to bend down, trample
Usage: Occurs in 1 OT verses. KJV: cover. See also: Lamentations 3:16.
בָּ/אֵֽפֶר
ʼêpher
H665
"ashes"
Prep | N-ms
In the Bible, this word refers to ashes, often symbolizing worthlessness or something worthless. It is used to describe something that has been destroyed or reduced to nothing.
Definition: 1) ashes 2) (CLBL) worthlessness (fig.)
Usage: Occurs in 22 OT verses. KJV: ashes. See also: Genesis 18:27; Psalms 147:16; Psalms 102:10.
Study Notes — Lamentations 3:16
Show Verse Quote Highlights
- Context
- Cross References
- Lamentations 3:16 Summary
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Reflection Questions
- Gill's Exposition on Lamentations 3:16
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Lamentations 3:16
- Matthew Poole's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
- Trapp's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
- Ellicott's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
- Adam Clarke's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
- Cambridge Bible on Lamentations 3:16
- Whedon's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
- Sermons on Lamentations 3:16
Context — The Prophet’s Afflictions
14I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
15He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
16He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust.
17My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. 18So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proverbs 20:17 | Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel. |
| 2 | Jeremiah 6:26 | O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. |
| 3 | Psalms 3:7 | Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. |
| 4 | Psalms 58:6 | O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions. |
| 5 | Jonah 3:6 | When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. |
| 6 | Job 4:10 | The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken. |
| 7 | Psalms 102:9 | For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears |
| 8 | Luke 11:11 | What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? |
| 9 | Matthew 7:9 | Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? |
| 10 | Job 2:8 | And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes. |
Lamentations 3:16 Summary
This verse describes a person who feels completely broken and defeated, like they've been walked all over. The image of teeth being ground with gravel is a powerful picture of the pain and distress they're feeling. Just like the Psalmist in Psalm 42:1-2, who felt like a deer panting for water, we can feel like we're desperate for relief and comfort when we're suffering. But even in the midst of that pain, we can turn to God, who promises to be near to the brokenhearted, as seen in Psalm 34:18.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to have teeth ground with gravel?
This phrase is a metaphor for the intense suffering and distress the speaker is experiencing, similar to the emotional pain described in Jeremiah 4:3, where the heart is compared to a fallow field that needs to be broken up to be fruitful again.
Why would God trample someone in the dust?
This action represents the complete humiliation and defeat of the person, as seen in Psalm 94:5-6, where the wicked are said to crush God's people, but ultimately, God will not abandon them, as He promises in Deuteronomy 31:6.
Is this verse describing a literal or spiritual experience?
While the language is poetic, the experience is likely a spiritual and emotional one, as the speaker's soul is being affected, as described in Lamentations 3:17, where the soul is deprived of peace.
How does this verse relate to the rest of the chapter?
This verse is part of a larger lament, where the speaker describes their suffering and feelings of abandonment by God, similar to the emotions expressed in Job 16:12-13, but ultimately, the chapter turns to hope in God's faithfulness, as seen in Lamentations 3:21-23.
Reflection Questions
- What are some times in my life when I felt completely crushed and defeated, and how did I respond to God in those moments?
- How can I trust in God's goodness when I am experiencing intense suffering, like the speaker in this verse?
- What are some ways I can 'remember' God's faithfulness, as described in Lamentations 3:21, even when I am feeling trampled and defeated?
- In what ways can I identify with the speaker's feelings of being a 'laughingstock' to others, and how can I find comfort in God's presence during those times?
Gill's Exposition on Lamentations 3:16
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones,.... With gritty bread, such as is made of corn ground with new millstones, the grit of which mixes with the flour; or with stony bread, as Seneca (n)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Lamentations 3:16
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
Matthew Poole's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
These are but more metaphorical expressions, signifying the unpleasant difficult condition into which God had brought this people. They were like men that lived upon gritty bread, more fit to break their teeth than to nourish them; they were in the state of mourners, and no ordinary mourners, who were wont to throw ashes on their heads, they were all over covered with ashes.
Trapp's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
Lamentations 3:16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.Ver. 16. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones.] Comminuit scrupis dentes meos - i.e., With gritty bread. See Proverbs 20:17. He hath covered me with ashes.] The Greek and Latin have it, He hath fed me with ashes, which was worse than that bread made most of sawdust, wherewith they fed the martyrs in the Marian times.
Ellicott's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
(16) He hath also broken my teeth.—The metaphor of food is continued. The mourner eats bread that is gritty, as if made of sand instead of flour. (Comp. Proverbs 20:17.) Here, again, we are reminded of Dante (Parad. xvii. 58), when he speaks of the bitterness of the bread which comes as the grudging gift of strangers.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
Verse 16. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones] What a figure to express disgust, pain, and the consequent incapacity of taking food for the support of life; a man, instead of bread, being obliged to eat small pebbles till all his teeth are broken to pieces by endeavouring to grind them. One can scarcely read this description without feeling the toothache. The next figure is not less expressive. He hath covered me with ashes.] הכפישני באפר hichphishani beepher, "he hath plunged me into the dust." To be thrown into a mass or bed of perfect dust, where the eyes are blinded by it, the ears stopped, and the mouth and lungs filled at the very first attempt to respire after having been thrown into it-what a horrible idea of suffocation and drowning! One can scarcely read this without feeling a suppression of breath, or a stricture upon the lungs! Did ever man paint sorrow like this man?
Cambridge Bible on Lamentations 3:16
16. broken my teeth with gravel stones] The metaphor from food is continued. The prophet is like one whose teeth are worn away by the continued action of grit mixed with his bread. Cp. Proverbs 20:17.
Whedon's Commentary on Lamentations 3:16
16. Broken my teeth with gravel stones — Either mixed with bread, or rather, as Keil prefers, stones given instead of bread. He hath covered me with ashes — Literally, hath pressed me down in ashes.
Sermons on Lamentations 3:16
| Sermon | Description | |
|---|---|---|
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(Pdf Book) the Spirit of Truth by Art Katz | Art Katz emphasizes the critical importance of truth in the Church, arguing that the institution has become inauthentic and predictable due to a lack of genuine commitment to truth |
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The Hidden Secrets of Kabbalah-a Messianic Approach by Michael L. Brown | In this sermon, the speaker discusses a mystical encounter in the garden of paradise involving four men: Ben-Azai, Ben-Zoma, An-Akhair, and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva warns the other |
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Chin-Chin Turns Gravel by E.A. Adeboye | E.A. Adeboye delivers a powerful sermon on the consequences of acquiring wealth through fraudulent or deceitful means, emphasizing that the end result of ill-gotten gains is not bl |
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Spiritual Virginity by G.W. North | In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of being vessels for God. He shares personal experiences of witnessing people repenting and being transformed by the power of |
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Peace in the Midst of the Storm by David Guzik | In this sermon, the speaker focuses on Psalm 3, where David laments the increase of his enemies, including his own son Absalom. David is troubled by the lack of loyalty from those |
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Psalm 5 by Carl Armerding | In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of prayer and devotion to God. He shares personal experiences and insights from his 60 years of knowing the Lord. The speaker |
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My Hope When Love Has Gone Dry by Carter Conlon | In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of unity and love within the church community. He quotes Ecclesiastes 4:12, which states that two people standing together ar |