Lamentations 3:13 — Word Study
WLCהֵבִיא֙ בְּכִלְיוֹתָ֔י בְּנֵ֖י אַשְׁפָּתֽוֹ׃
BSAHe piercedbôwʼ■ [shot, caused to enter] my kidneyskilyâh [inmost parts, reins] with His arrowsbên [the sons of His quiver, shafts of His quiver]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| הֵבִיא֙ | he has brought | Verb, Hiphil, perfect third person masculine singular |
| בְּכִלְיוֹתָ֔י | in kidneys my | Preposition, noun common feminine plural construct, suffix |
| בְּנֵ֖י | [the] sons of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| אַשְׁפָּתֽוֹ׃ | quiver his | Noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | He pierced my kidneys with His arrows. |
| KJV | He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. |
| ASV | He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins. |
| YLT | He hath caused to enter into my reins The sons of His quiver. |
| WEB | He has caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my kidneys. |
| BBE | He has let loose his arrows into the inmost parts of my body. |
Where they part company is minimal; translations generally agree on the imagery of piercing.
The sentence has a main clause followed by a prepositional phrase that adds detail about the manner of the action.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbבּוֹא
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Lamentations 3:13
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Lament of Sufferinggenerated
Lamentations 3:13 expresses the intense pain and suffering of the speaker, who feels as if God has targeted him with arrows. This verse is part of a larger lament where the speaker recounts feelings of despair and mockery from others, as seen in the surrounding verses. The imagery of being pierced conveys deep emotional and spiritual distress, reflecting the broader themes of suffering in the book of Lamentations.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deuteronomy 32:23 | I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them. |
| 2 | Job 6:4 | For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. |
| 3 | Job 41:28 | No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like chaff to him. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — הֵבִיא֙, he.Vi'generated
The verb בּוֹא (bo) means to come or go in, and in this context, it conveys the sense of being brought into a painful situation. The Hiphil form indicates causation, suggesting that the speaker feels as if this pain has been inflicted upon him.
This usage emphasizes the personal nature of the anguish, as if the speaker is not merely experiencing pain but is being actively targeted by God. The choice of this verb in the context of arrows deepens the metaphor of suffering as an attack.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The verse is presented in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses pierced for the action, aligning with the imagery of arrows.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb of the verse is הֵבִיא֙, he has brought, which governs the structure of the sentence. It is followed by a prepositional phrase indicating where the action occurs, and then the object of the action, which is the kidneys.
The structure emphasizes the action of piercing as central to the speaker's experience, with the kidneys serving as a metaphor for deep emotional pain.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates הֵבִיא֙ as εἰσήγαγεν, which means 'he brought in.' This choice reflects a similar sense of causation but may imply a broader context of being brought into a situation rather than just being pierced.
This translation choice suggests a nuanced understanding of the speaker's suffering, indicating that it is not only physical but also involves being drawn into a painful experience.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Lamentations 3:13 describes the speaker's deep pain, feeling as if God has shot arrows at him, piercing his kidneys. This imagery conveys a sense of personal anguish and suffering, reflecting the broader themes of lament in the book.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
In the Bible, kidneys symbolize the inmost parts and emotions, so to pierce them indicates deep emotional pain.
The arrows represent the speaker's suffering, suggesting that it feels as if God has directly inflicted this pain.
This verse illustrates the intense suffering and despair that permeates Lamentations, highlighting the personal anguish of the speaker.
The imagery of arrows piercing the kidneys conveys a vivid sense of pain and vulnerability, emphasizing the speaker's emotional turmoil.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways have I felt targeted by pain in my life, similar to the speaker's experience?
- How can I find comfort in my suffering, knowing that others have expressed similar anguish?
- What does it mean for me to understand my emotions as deeply connected to my spiritual state?
- How can I support others who are experiencing deep emotional pain?
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Lamentations 3:13 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHe hath caused the arrows of his quiver,.... Or, "the sons of his quiver" (i); an usual Hebraism; the quiver is compared, as Aben Ezra observes, to a pregnant woman; and Horace has a like expression,
Read John Gill on Lamentations 3 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryHe was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
Read Robert Jamieson on Lamentations 3 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThat is, he hath made his judgments to pierce the most inward parts of the nation; or, he hath mortally wounded me. In the Hebrew it is, the daughters of his quiver, a way of speaking very usual in Hebrew, to express any thing that comes from another as the effect either of a natural or moral cause; so sparks are called the sons of the quick coal, , and corn the son of the floor, &c.
Read Matthew Poole on Lamentations 3 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsLamentations 3:13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.Ver. 13. He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.] Heb., The sons of his quiver, by a Hebraism. So Horace hath - “ Pharetram gravidam sagittis. ” - Lib, ii. od. 21. “ Full quiver of arrows.” Job hath many like complaints. Renes sunt sedes libidinis.
Read John Trapp on Lamentations 3 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(13) The arrows of his quiver.—Literally, children. The other side of the analogy appears in Psalms 127:5.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Lamentations 3 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 13. The arrows of his quiver] בני אשפתו beney ashpatho, "The sons of his quiver." The issue or effect; the subject, adjunct, or accident, or produce of a thing, is frequently denominated its son or child. So arrows that issue from a quiver are here termed the sons of the quiver.
Read AdamClarke on Lamentations 3 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges13. shafts] lit. as mg. the more poetical sons. reins] See on Jeremiah 12:2.
Read Cambridge on Lamentations 3 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible13. Arrows of his quiver — Better, as the margin, sons “of his quiver.” These are, of course, the ills and misfortunes sent upon him by God.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Lamentations 3 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
He has caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my kidneys.
He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
He shot his arrows into my heart.
Tyndale line
He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins.
He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins.
He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
Hee caused the arrowes of his quiuer to enter into my reines.
Strictly literal
He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
He hath caused to enter into my reins The sons of His quiver.
He has caused to enter into my reins || The sons of His quiver.
He hath caused to enter into my reins the children of his quiver.
He pierced my kidneys with the arrows of his quiver.
From the Latin
He. He hath shot into my reins the daughters of his quiver.
Simplified
He shot me in my kidneys with his arrows.
He has let loose his arrows into the inmost parts of my body.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all four words matched. The Septuagint's word order differs, but the essential meaning remains consistent with the Hebrew text.
הֵבִיא֙ בְּכִלְיוֹתָ֔י בְּנֵ֖י אַשְׁפָּתֽוֹ׃
4 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Lamentations 3:13
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
בּוֹא (bo) is a Hebrew verb meaning to come or go in, with a wide range of applications including entering, arriving, and bringing in. It can refer to both physical movement and abstract concepts like events coming to pass. The verb appears in various forms, such as Qal (to come), Hiphil (to cause to come), and Hophal (to be brought). There is no significant disagreement among lexicons regarding its meanings.
בּוֹא 2569 vb. come in, come, go in, go
Qal
come in
come (approach, arrive)
go, i.e. walk, associate with
go from speaker, but with limit of motion given
Hiph.
cause to come in, bring in (conduct, lead, obj. persons and animals)
cause to come, bring, bring near, etc. (animate obj.)
Hoph.
be brought in (of pers. and things)
be brought
be introduced, put
base
H935 בּוֹא come in, come, go in, go .. come in
. come (approach, arrive)
. go, i.e. walk, associate with
. go from speaker, but with limit of motion given
. . cause to come in, bring in (conduct, lead, obj. persons and animals)
. cause to come, bring, bring near, etc. (animate obj.)
. . be brought in (of pers. and things)
. be brought
. be introduced, put
935 bow' bo
a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of
applications):--abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, +
besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X
certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out,
upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ,
(cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be
fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war),
grant, + have, X indeed, (in-)vade, lead, lift (up), mention,
pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken
(in age), X surely, take (in), way.
בּוֹא (bo) — to come (in): come.
: come/go_in
1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to enter, come in
1a2) to come
1a2a) to come with
1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy)
1a2c) to come to pass
1a3) to attain to
1a4) to be enumerated
1a5) to go
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to lead in
1b2) to carry in
1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon
1b4) to bring to pass
1c) (Hophal)
1c1) to be brought, brought in
1c2) to be introduced, be put
לְב֥וֹא (bo) — Lebo-(Hamath).
This name means to go in, enter
Combined with cha.mat (חֲמָת "Hamath" H2574)
בּוֹא (bo) — to come (in): towards.
: towards/entrance
1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to enter, come in
1a2) to come
1a2a) to come with
1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy)
1a2c) to come to pass
1a3) to attain to
1a4) to be enumerated
V-Hiphil-Perf-3ms — Verb · Hiphil · perfect third person masculine singularHVhp3ms
כִּלְיָה (kilyah) refers to kidneys in the plural form, primarily as a physical organ. It can also denote the seat of emotion and affection figuratively, and is used in the context of sacrificial animals. The term is derived from a related word for 'kidney' and is noted for its figurative use in describing the mind or interior self.
[כִּלְיָה] n.f. only pl. kidneys
base
H3629 [כִּלְיָה] only pl. kidneys
3629 kilyah kil-yaw'
feminine of 3627 (only in the plural); a kidney (as an
essential organ); figuratively, the mind (as the interior
self):--kidneys, reins.
see HEBREW for 03627
כִּלְיָה (kil.yah) — kidney.
1) kidneys
1a) of physical organ (lit.)
1b) of seat of emotion and affection (fig.)
1c) of sacrificial animals
2) (TWOT) reins
Prep | N-fp | Suff — Preposition · noun common feminine plural construct · suffixHR/Ncfpc/Sp1bs
בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.
בֵּן 4870 n.m. son
son, male child, born of a woman
children (male and female)
youth, young men
the young of animals
of plant shoots
fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
member of a guild, order or class
of animals son of (the) herd
ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
n. relat. of age
base
בְּנוֹ 1 Ch 24:26, 27 as n.pr.m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son, cf. VB & Be Öt.
done
H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman
. children (male and female)
. youth, young men
. the young of animals
. of plant shoots
. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
. . member of a guild, order or class
. of animals son of (the) herd
. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
. n. relat. of age
H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son
1121 ben bane
from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the
widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship,
including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition,
etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)
(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,
(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,
bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X
came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of
first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +
kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)
people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +
spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous
one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.
see HEBREW for 01129
see HEBREW for 01
see HEBREW for 0251
בֵּן (ben) — son: child.
: child/son
בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;
son of: Jaaziah (H3269);
brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)
§ Beno = "his son"
the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)
בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.
: descendant, people, tribe, nation
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : child/son
בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.
: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : descendant
בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.
: rebel/son(Belial)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : people/men/nation/tribe
בֵּן (ben) — son.
: [inheriting]son/heir
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.
: warrior/son(strong)
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural constructHNcmpc
See SON, SONS.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
אַשְׁפָּה (ashpah) refers to a quiver for arrows, possibly derived from a root meaning 'covering.' The term is used in a literal sense for a container of arrows and may also have figurative implications related to God's instruments. The entries consistently emphasize its primary meaning without significant disagreement.
אַשְׁפָּה n.f. quiver for arrows
base
H827 אַשְׁפָּה quiver for arrows
827 'ashpah ash-paw'
perhaps (feminine) from the same as 825 (in the sense of
covering); a quiver or arrow-case:--quiver.
see HEBREW for 0825
אַשְׁפָּה (ash.pah) — quiver.
1) quiver (for arrows)
1a) of home, of God's instruments (fig.)
HNcfsc/Sp3ms — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHNcfsc/Sp3ms