Lamentations 3:19 — Word Study
WLCזְכָר־ עָנְיִ֥י וּמְרוּדִ֖י לַעֲנָ֥ה וָרֹֽאשׁ׃
BSARememberzâkar [keep in mind, recalling] my afflictionʻŏnîy [misery, trouble] and wanderingmârûwd [as an outcast, feeling lost] the wormwoodlaʻănâh [a poisonous plant] and the gallrôʼsh [poison, a harmful substance]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| זְכָר־ | remember | Verb, Qal, imperative second person masculine singular |
| עָנְיִ֥י | affliction my | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| וּמְרוּדִ֖י | and homelessness my | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| לַעֲנָ֥ה | wormwood | Noun common, feminine singular absolute |
| וָרֹֽאשׁ׃ | and poison | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. |
| KJV | Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. |
| ASV | Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. |
| YLT | Remember my affliction and my mourning, Wormwood and gall! |
| WEB | Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness. |
| BBE | Keep in mind my trouble and my wandering, the bitter root and the poison. |
Where they part company is in the nuances of the word זָכַר — see How Translations Differ.
The structure consists of a main clause followed by descriptive phrases that detail the speaker's afflictions and emotions.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbזָכַר
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 3:19
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 3:19 expresses a deep sense of personal anguish, where the speaker calls on God to remember their affliction and wandering. This verse is part of a larger reflection on suffering and hope, contrasting despair with the possibility of renewed hope in God, as seen in the surrounding verses, particularly Lamentations 3:21.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehemiah 9:32 | So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. |
| 2 | Job 7:7 | Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness. |
| 3 | Psalm 89:47–50 | Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men! |
| 4 | Psalm 132:1 | O LORD, remember on behalf of David all the hardships he endured, |
| 5 | Lamentations 3:5–15 | He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 6 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — זָכַר, ze.khor-generated
The verb זָכַר (zakar) means 'to remember' and is a call to bring something to mind. It is built from a root implying recognition and encompasses recalling thoughts and commemorating significant events.
In this context, the imperative form addresses God directly, urging Him to remember the speaker's suffering. The focus is on the act of remembrance, suggesting that the speaker seeks acknowledgment of their pain.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses remember for זָכַר.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb זְכָר (remember) governs the entire verse, with a noun phrase following that serves as the object of remembrance: עָנְיִ֥י (my affliction) and וּמְרוּדִ֖י (my wandering).
The structure emphasizes the speaker's plea to God, with the afflictions listed in a compound phrase that highlights their emotional weight.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates זָכַר as ἐμνήσθην (emnēsthēn), which also means 'to remember'. This choice maintains the original's focus on remembrance but may introduce nuances of divine action.
The Greek translation reflects the speaker's desire for God to actively recall their suffering, reinforcing the plea for divine attention.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Lamentations 3:19 expresses a deep sorrow where the speaker asks God to remember their suffering and feelings of being lost. The verse highlights the bitterness of their experiences, symbolized by wormwood and gall.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The term 'affliction' refers to a state of misery or hardship, indicating the speaker's deep emotional and physical pain.
Wormwood symbolizes bitterness and suffering, representing the harshness of the speaker's circumstances.
Gall refers to a harmful substance, emphasizing the toxicity of the speaker's experiences and emotions.
While the verse expresses sorrow, it is part of a larger context that ultimately leads to a call for hope and remembrance of God's faithfulness.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways can I relate to the feelings of affliction expressed in this verse?
- How does remembering past struggles help me find hope in my current situation?
- What are some personal experiences that have felt like 'wormwood' or 'gall' in my life?
- How can I support others who are experiencing similar afflictions and feelings of being lost?
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Lamentations 3:19 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleRemembering mine affliction and my misery,.... The miserable affliction of him and his people; the remembrance of which, and poring upon it continually, caused the despondency before expressed:
Read John Gill on Lamentations 3 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryRemembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Read Robert Jamieson on Lamentations 3 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleIf, according to our translation, we read Remembering, or While I remember, these two verses contain but one sentence; in tire former part the prophet in the name of this people expresseth their despairing condition; in the latter he gives the reason of it, viz. the people’ s poring upon their great and heavy afflictions, which he compares to wormwood and gall, two things excessively bitter, and often made use of to signify great affliction, 9:15 23:15 . But it may as well be read imperatively, Remember mine affliction; so the first of these two verses expresseth the dejection of the people’ s minds in their captivity, caused through their proneness to despair of any better condition that…
Read Matthew Poole on Lamentations 3 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsLamentations 3:19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.Ver. 19. Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall,] i.e., The bitterness that was in it, but of mine own commingling. Impatiens quisque bis affligitur, Impatience redoubleth an affliction.
Read John Trapp on Lamentations 3 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(19) Remembering.—The verb, which is rendered by the Authorised version as a gerundial infinitive, is better taken as an imperative, Remember mine affliction; the prayer being addressed to Jehovah. The two terms of the first clause are taken from Lamentations 1:7. The mourner begins his prayer, as it were, by a recapitulation of his sufferings. (Comp. Psalms 69:21.)
Read Charles John Ellicott on Lamentations 3 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges19. God is now directly invoked. misery] mg. wandering, or, outcast state.
Read Cambridge on Lamentations 3 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleRemembering - Or, as in the margin. It is a prayer to Yahweh. My misery - Or, “my” homelessness (Lamentations 1:7 note).
Read Albert Barnes on Lamentations 3 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BiblePIOUS OF GOD’S AND MERCY, Lamentations 3:19-39.19. Remembering — Better, remember, as in the margin. The verb is an infinitive, as in the fourth commandment. Affliction, misery, wormwood, and gall are reminiscences of chapter 1.
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
Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.
Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my impoverished and homeless condition, which is a bitter poison.
Tyndale line
Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Remembering my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Remembring mine affliction, and my mourning, the wormewood and the gall.
Strictly literal
Remember thou mine affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Remember my affliction and my mourning, Wormwood and gall!
Remember my affliction and my mourning, || Wormwood and gall!
Remembering my affliction and [the cause of] my complaint, wormwood and poison.
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and bitterness.
From the Latin
Zain. Remember my poverty, and transgression, the wormwood, and the gall.
Simplified
Don't forget everything I've suffered in my wandering, as bitter as wormwood and poison.
Keep in mind my trouble and my wandering, the bitter root and the poison.
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 five words matched in the translation. This consistency suggests a shared understanding of the speaker's lament.
זְכָר־ עָנְיִ֥י וּמְרוּדִ֖י לַעֲנָ֥ה וָרֹֽאשׁ׃
5 of the 5 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 3:19
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.
The Hebrew word זָכַר (zakar) means 'to remember' and is built from a primitive root implying recognition. It covers a range of meanings, including recalling thoughts, commemorating days, and causing others to remember. The entries also note its use in various grammatical forms, such as being remembered or making a memorial.
זָכַר vb. remember
Qal
Human subj.
remember, recall, call to mind, usu. as affecting present feeling, thought or action
remember persons (human subj.)
remember י׳
remember
think of or on, call to mind something present or future
remember a day, to observe, commemorate it
remember, with implied mention of, obj.
Subj. י׳ (אלהִם)
remember persons
remember the distress of his servants
their devotion
remember his own covenant (with them)
his mercy
extenuating circumstances
remember sins, idolatries
Niph.
be brought to remembrance, remembered, thought of, usu. c. neg.
neg. be not remembered = no longer exist, of name of Israel, as nation
be remembered, of particular days, in order to be observed, commemorated
Hiph.
cause to remember, remind
cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance
mention
record, only pt.
of sacrifice, make a memorial
base
H2142 זָכַר remember .. Human subj. . remember, recall, call to mind, usu. as affecting present feeling, thought or action
. remember persons (human subj.)
. remember י׳
. remember
. think of or on, call to mind something present or future
. remember a day, to observe, commemorate it
. remember, with implied mention of, obj.
. Subj. י׳ (אלהִם) . remember persons
. . remember the distress of his servants
. their devotion
. . remember his own covenant (with them)
. his mercy
. extenuating circumstances
. remember sins, idolatries
. . be brought to remembrance, remembered, thought of, usu. c. neg.
. neg. be not remembered = no longer exist, of name of Israel, as nation
. be remembered, of particular days, in order to be observed, commemorated
. . cause to remember, remind
. cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance
. mention
. record, only pt.
. of sacrifice, make a memorial
2142 zakar zaw-kar'
a primitive root; properly, to mark (so as to be recognized),
i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; also (as
denominative from 2145) to be male:--X burn (incense), X
earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount,
record(-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call,
come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, X still, think on, X
well.
see HEBREW for 02145
זָכַר (za.khar) — to remember.
1) to remember, recall, call to mind
1a) (Qal) to remember, recall
1b) (Niphal) to be brought to remembrance, be remembered, be thought of, be brought to mind
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to cause to remember, remind
1c2) to cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance
1c3) to mention
1c4) to record
1c5) to make a memorial, make remembrance
V-Qal-Impv-2ms — Verb · Qal · imperative second person masculine singularHVqv2ms
עֳנִי (oniy) refers to affliction, poverty, and misery. It is derived from the root word עָנָה (H6031), which relates to depression or trouble. The entries consistently emphasize its meanings related to suffering and hardship.
עֳנִי n.m. affliction, poverty
base
H6040 עֳנִי affliction, poverty
6040 `oniy on-ee'
from 6031; depression, i.e. misery: --afflicted(-ion),
trouble.
see HEBREW for 06031
עֳנִי (o.ni) — affliction.
1) affliction, poverty, misery
1a) affliction
1b) poverty
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp1bs
מָרוֹד (maruwd) refers to concepts of restlessness and straying, with a focus on wandering or being an outcast. The word is linked to maltreatment and destitution, suggesting a state of misery or being cast out. The entries do not provide a specific verse reference.
[מָרוֹד] n.[m.] restlessness, straying (?)
base
H4788 מָרוֹד restlessness, straying (?)
4788 maruwd maw-rood'
from 7300 in the sense of maltreatment; an outcast;
(abstractly) destitution:--cast out, misery.
see HEBREW for 07300
מָרוֹד (ma.rud) — wandering.
restlessness, straying, wanderer, refugee
Conj | N-ms | Suff — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHC/Ncmsc/Sp1bs
לַעֲנָה (la'anah) refers to wormwood, a plant often associated with bitterness and poison. The term is derived from a root that suggests a meaning related to cursing. It is mentioned in contexts that highlight its harmful qualities.
לַעֲנָה n.f. wormwood
base
H3939 לַעֲנָה wormwood
3939 la`anah lah-an-aw'
from an unused root supposed to mean to curse; wormwood
(regarded as poisonous, and therefore accursed):--hemlock,
wormwood.
לַעֲנָה (la.a.nah) — wormwood.
1) wormwood
1a) bitterness (metaph.)
N-fs — Noun common · feminine singular absoluteHNcfsa
wurm'-wood (la'anah (De 29:18; Pr 5:4; Jer 9:15; 23:15; La 3:15,19; Am 5:7; 6:12, the King James Version hemlock); apsinthos (Re 8:11)): What the Hebrew la`anah may have been is obscure; it is clear it was a bitter substance and it is usually associated with "gall"; in the Septuagint it is variously translated, but never by apsinthos, "wormwood." Nevertheless all ancient tradition supports the English Versions of the Bible translation. The genus Artemisia (Natural Order Compositae), "wormwood," has five species of shrubs or herbs found in Palestine (Post), any one of…
Wormwood
Heb. la’anah, the Artemisia absinthium of botanists. It is noted for its intense bitterness (Deut. 29:18; Prov. 5:4; Jer. 9:15; Amos 5:7). It is a type of bitterness, affliction, remorse, punitive suffering. In Amos 6:12 this Hebrew word is rendered “hemlock” (R.V., “wormwood”). In the symbolical language of the Apocalypse (Rev. 8:10, 11) a star is represented as falling on the waters of the earth, causing the third part of the water to turn wormwood.
Four kinds of wormwood are found in Palestine-- Artemisia nilotica , A. Judaica , A. fructicosa and A. cinerea . The word occurs frequently in the Bible, and generally in a metaphorical sense. In (Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15; Lamentations 3:15,19) wormwood is symbolical of bitter calamity and sorrow; unrighteous judges are said to "turn judgment to wormwood." (Amos 5:7) The Orientals typified sorrows, cruelties and calamities of any kind by plants of a poisonous or bitter nature.
La 3:15, an intensely bitter and poisonous plant, a symbol for whatever is nauseous and destructive, De 29:18 Jer 9:15. The fruits of vicious indulgence are "better as wormwood," Pr 5:3; and injustice and oppression are like wormwood and gall, Am 5:7 6:12.
The Chaldee paraphrase calls it "the wormwood of death." In Re 8:10-11, the star called wormwood seems to denote a mighty prince, or power of the air, the instrument, in its fall, of sore judgments on large numbers of the wicked. Compare Da 10:20-21
רֹאשׁ (ro'sh) refers to a bitter and poisonous herb, often associated with venom or poison. The entries suggest it may specifically denote a plant like the poppy, and it is used figuratively to indicate bitterness or toxicity. The term appears in contexts related to poison, gall, and hemlock.
רֹאשׁ and רוֹשׁ n.m. a bitter and poisonous herb, then venom, alw. fig.
base
H7219 רֹאשׁ and רוֹשׁ a bitter and poisonous herb, then venom, alw. fig.
7219 ro'sh roshe
or rowsh (Deut. 32:32) {roshe}; apparently the same as 7218;
a poisonous plant, probably the poppy (from its conspicuous
head); generally poison (even of serpents):--gall, hemlock,
poison, venom.
see HEBREW for 07218
רֹאשׁ (rosh) — poison.
gall, venom, bitter, poisonous
Conj | N-ms — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular absoluteHC/Ncmsa
poi'-z'-n (chemah, ro'-sh; thumos, ios): Residents in Palestine must, from the first, have been acquainted with venomous serpents. Six species of these are widely diffused in the land, and at least three of them are fairly common in places. Besides, there are scorpions, centipedes and the large spider, which are as much dreaded by the fellahin as are the serpents, not to speak of the minor but very serious discomforts of mosquitoes, sandflies and ticks, some of which were credited with lethal powers. In The Wisdom of Solomon 16:9 the Revised Version (British and American) we read that "the bites of locusts and flies did slay, and there was not found a healing for their life." There are also many poisonous plants, such as belladonna, henbane, thorn apple, and the opium poppy. None of these is mentioned in the Bible; the only names found there are the hemlock (Conium maculatum) of
Poison
(1.) Heb. hemah, “heat,” the poison of certain venomous reptiles (Deut. 32:24, 33; Job 6:4; Ps. 58:4), causing inflammation.
(2.) Heb. rosh, “a head,” a poisonous plant (Deut. 29:18), growing luxuriantly (Hos. 10:4), of a bitter taste (Ps. 69:21; Lam. 3:5), and coupled with wormwood; probably the poppy. This word is rendered “gall”, q.v., (Deut. 29:18; 32:33; Ps. 69:21;