Lamentations 3:5 (DRB)

Passage

Beth. He hath built round about me, and he hath compassed me with gall, and labour.

Nearby Context

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.

Lamentations 3:7 Ghimel. He hath built against me round about, that I may not get out: he hath made my fetters heavy.

Study Lenses

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

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