Lamentations 3:54 (ASV)

Passage

Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.

Nearby Context

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.

Lamentations 3:55 I called upon thy name, O Jehovah, out of the lowest dungeon.

Lamentations 3:56 Thou heardest my voice; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "waters", "flowed", "over", "head", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "waters" and "flowed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 53's "They have cut off my life in..." into verse 55's "I called upon thy name O Jehovah...", so "waters" and "flowed" 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 "waters" and "flowed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.