Lamentations 3:4 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:2 Aleph. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, and not into light.

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

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

Lamentations 3:5 Beth. He hath built round about me, and he hath compassed me with gall, and labour.

Lamentations 3:6 Beth. He hath set me in dark places as those that are dead for ever.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Aleph Only against me he hath turned..." into verse 5's "Beth He hath built round about me...", so "beth" 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 "beth" and "skin" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.