Lamentations 3:10 (KJV)

Passage

He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

Lamentations 3:9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

Lamentations 3:10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

Lamentations 3:11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

Lamentations 3:12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bear", "lying", "wait", "lion", "secret", and "places". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bear" and "lying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "He hath inclosed my ways with hewn..." into verse 11's "He hath turned aside my ways and...", so "bear" and "lying" 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 "bear" and "lying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.