What does Lamentations 3:22 mean?
The book of Lamentations is a set of poems of grief written after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC. The writer, traditionally Jeremiah, has just described his despair in painful detail. Then, in the middle of the book, he remembers something that gives him hope. "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed": the fact that anyone survived at all is proof of God's mercy. "His compassions fail not" means God's tender love never runs out, even when everything else has fallen apart. This verse shows that hope does not deny suffering; it remembers God's character right in the middle of it.
Lamentations 3:22 in the King James Version
It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Context
21 This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.
23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Lamentations 3:22 mean?
The book of Lamentations is a set of poems of grief written after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC. The writer, traditionally Jeremiah, has just described his despair in painful detail. Then, in the middle of the book, he remembers something that gives him hope. "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed": the fact that anyone survived at all is proof of God's mercy. "His compassions fail not" means God's tender love never runs out, even when everything else has fallen apart. This verse shows that hope does not deny suffering; it remembers God's character right in the middle of it.
What does Lamentations 3:22 say in the KJV?
Lamentations 3:22 (KJV) reads: “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”