Lamentations 3:38 (DBY)

Passage

Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:36 to wrong a man in his cause, will not the Lord see it?

Lamentations 3:37 Who is he that saith, and there cometh to pass, what the Lord hath not commanded?

Lamentations 3:38 Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?

Lamentations 3:39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

Lamentations 3:40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mouth", "most", "high", "doth", "proceed", "evil", and "good". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mouth" and "most", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "Who is he that saith and there..." into verse 39's "Wherefore doth a living man complain a...", so "mouth" and "most" 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 "mouth" and "most" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.