Lamentations 3:10 (WEB)

Passage

He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:8 Yes, when I cry, and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.

Lamentations 3:9 He has walled up my ways with cut stone. He has made my paths crooked.

Lamentations 3:10 He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.

Lamentations 3:11 He has turned away my ways, and pulled me in pieces. He has made me desolate.

Lamentations 3:12 He has 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 has walled up my ways with..." into verse 11's "He has turned away 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.