Lamentations 3:8 (KJV)

Passage

Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

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

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shout", "shutteth", and "prayer". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shout" and "shutteth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "He hath hedged me about that I..." into verse 9's "He hath inclosed my ways with hewn...", so "shout" and "shutteth" 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 "shout" and "shutteth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.