Lamentations 3:4 (ASV)

Passage

My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:2 He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.

Lamentations 3:3 Surely against me he turneth his hand again and again all the day.

Lamentations 3:4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

Lamentations 3:5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

Lamentations 3:6 He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "flesh", "skin", "hath", "broken", and "bones". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "flesh" and "skin", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Surely against me he turneth his hand..." into verse 5's "He hath builded against me and compassed...", so "flesh" and "skin" belong inside that flow. In Lamentations context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "flesh" and "skin" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.