Lamentations 3:52 (ASV)

Passage

They have chased me sore like a bird, they that are mine enemies without cause.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:50 Till Jehovah look down, and behold from heaven.

Lamentations 3:51 Mine eye affecteth my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.

Lamentations 3:52 They have chased me sore like a bird, they that are mine enemies without cause.

Lamentations 3:53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone upon me.

Lamentations 3:54 Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "chased", "sore", "like", "bird", "mine", "enemies", "without", and "cause". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "chased" and "sore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 51's "Mine eye affecteth my soul because of..." into verse 53's "They have cut off my life in...", so "chased" and "sore" 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 "chased" and "sore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.