Lamentations 3:5 (DBY)

Passage

He hath built against me, and encompassed [me] with gall and toil.

Nearby Context

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

Lamentations 3:4 My flesh and my skin hath he wasted away, he hath broken my bones.

Lamentations 3:5 He hath built against me, and encompassed [me] with gall and toil.

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

Lamentations 3:7 He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "built", "against", "encompassed", "gall", and "toil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "built", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "My flesh and my skin hath he..." into verse 6's "He hath made me to dwell in...", so "hath" and "built" 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 "hath" and "built" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.