Lamentations 3:7
New International Version
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.

New Living Translation
He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.

English Standard Version
He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;

Berean Standard Bible
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.

King James Bible
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

New King James Version
He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy.

New American Standard Bible
He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.

NASB 1995
He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.

NASB 1977
He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.

Legacy Standard Bible
He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.

Amplified Bible
He walled me in so that I cannot get out; He has weighted down my chain.

Christian Standard Bible
He has walled me in so I cannot get out; he has weighed me down with chains.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.

American Standard Version
He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.

Contemporary English Version
God built a fence around me that I cannot climb over, and he chained me down.

English Revised Version
He hath fenced me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He has blocked me so that I can't get out. He has put heavy chains on me.

Good News Translation
He has bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape.

International Standard Version
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he placed heavy chains on me.

Majority Standard Bible
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.

NET Bible
He has walled me in so that I cannot get out; he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.

New Heart English Bible
He has walled me in, so I can't escape; he has made my chains heavy.

Webster's Bible Translation
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

World English Bible
He has walled me about, so that I can’t go out. He has made my chain heavy.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
He has hedged me in, and I do not go out, "" He has made heavy my chain.

Young's Literal Translation
He hath hedged me about, and I go not out, He hath made heavy my fetter.

Smith's Literal Translation
He walled about me and I shall not go forth: he loaded my brass.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Ghimel. He hath built against me round about, that I may not get out: he hath made my fetters heavy.

Catholic Public Domain Version
GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.

New American Bible
He has hemmed me in with no escape, weighed me down with chains;

New Revised Standard Version
He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
He has hedged me about, that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Gimel He has shut in my presence that I would not come out, and he strengthened my chains
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot go forth; He hath made my chain heavy.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
He has builded against me, and I cannot come forth: he has made my brazen chain heavy.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jeremiah's Afflictions
6He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages. 7He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains. 8Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.…

Cross References
Job 19:8
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.

Psalm 88:8
You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.

Jeremiah 38:6
So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

Isaiah 49:9
to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

Psalm 142:7
Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.

Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.

Job 3:23
Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

Psalm 107:10
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,

Isaiah 42:7
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

Jeremiah 13:16
Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.

Acts 16:24
On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

2 Corinthians 6:5
in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labor, sleepless nights, and hunger;

Matthew 5:25-26
Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. / Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

2 Timothy 2:9
for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained!

Hebrews 11:36
Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.


Treasury of Scripture

He has hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he has made my chain heavy.

hedged

Lamentations 3:9
He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

Job 3:23
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

Job 19:8
He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.

made

Lamentations 1:14
The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.

Lamentations 5:5
Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.

Daniel 9:12
And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

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Able Chain Chains Escape Fetter Forth Great Heavy Hedged Round Wall Walled Weighed Weight
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Able Chain Chains Escape Fetter Forth Great Heavy Hedged Round Wall Walled Weighed Weight
Lamentations 3
1. The prophet bewails his own calamities
22. By the mercies of God, he nourishes his hope
37. He acknowledges God's justice
55. He prays for deliverance
64. And vengeance on his enemies














He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
This phrase reflects the feeling of being trapped or confined, a common theme in Lamentations as the author mourns the destruction of Jerusalem. The imagery of being "walled in" can be connected to the literal walls of Jerusalem that were breached by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Historically, the siege of Jerusalem was a time of great distress and suffering for the Israelites, and this phrase captures the sense of divine judgment and abandonment they felt. Theologically, it can be seen as a metaphor for the spiritual and emotional barriers that sin creates between humanity and God. This imagery is echoed in other scriptures, such as Job 19:8, where Job feels similarly trapped by his circumstances. The sense of being unable to escape can also be seen as a type of Christ's experience on the cross, where He was "walled in" by the sins of the world, unable to escape His sacrificial mission.

He has weighed me down with chains.
The metaphor of being weighed down with chains suggests a heavy burden or oppression, often associated with captivity or slavery. In the context of Lamentations, it reflects the physical and spiritual bondage experienced by the Israelites during the Babylonian exile. Chains are a powerful symbol of restriction and suffering, and they emphasize the severity of God's judgment on His people for their disobedience. This imagery is consistent with other biblical passages, such as Psalm 107:10-14, where those who sit in darkness and chains are delivered by God's intervention. Theologically, the chains can represent the bondage of sin, from which only God can deliver. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is seen as the one who breaks these chains, offering freedom and redemption to those who believe in Him, as seen in passages like John 8:36 and Galatians 5:1.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
- Traditionally attributed as the author of Lamentations, Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet." He laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of his people.

2. Jerusalem
- The city that has been destroyed by the Babylonians, leading to the lament and sorrow expressed in the book.

3. Babylonian Exile
- The event during which the Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonians, leading to the context of Lamentations.
Teaching Points
Understanding God's Sovereignty in Trials
Recognize that God allows certain trials for His purposes, even when we feel trapped or overwhelmed.

The Reality of Human Suffering
Acknowledge that suffering is a part of the human experience, and it is okay to express feelings of despair and seek God in those moments.

Hope Beyond the Walls
Even when we feel walled in, remember that God is our ultimate hope and deliverer. Trust in His timing and plan.

The Importance of Lament
Lamenting is a biblical way to process grief and suffering. It is a form of prayer that brings our deepest pains before God.

Community in Suffering
Seek support and encouragement from fellow believers during times of feeling trapped or weighed down.(7) He hath hedged.--From the darkness of Hades we pass to that of the prison-house, in which the mourner is "hedged" or confined, bound with a heavy chain (literally, brass).

Verses 7-9. - Three figures, interrupted by a literal statement of the ill success of prayer. A traveller who finds himself suddenly caged up by a high thorn hedge (comp. Job 3:23; Hosea 2:6). A prisoner with a heavy chain. Again, a traveller suddenly shut up by solid stone walls (comp. Hosea 2:8). Verse 7. - My chain; literally, my brass (comp. Judges 16:21; 2 Kings 25:7).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
He has walled me in
גָּדַ֧ר (gā·ḏar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1443: To wall up or off, to build a wall

so I cannot
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

escape;
אֵצֵ֖א (’ê·ṣê)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim

He has weighed me down
הִכְבִּ֥יד (hiḵ·bîḏ)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3513: To be heavy, weighty, or burdensome

with chains.
נְחָשְׁתִּֽי׃ (nə·ḥā·šə·tî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5178: Copper, something made of that metal, coin, a fetter, base


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OT Prophets: Lamentations 3:7 He has walled me about that (Lam. La Lm)
Lamentations 3:6
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