Lamentations 3:16 (WEB)

Passage

He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:14 I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.

Lamentations 3:15 He has filled me with bitterness. He has stuffed me with wormwood.

Lamentations 3:16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.

Lamentations 3:17 You have removed my soul far away from peace. I forgot prosperity.

Lamentations 3:18 I said, “My strength has perished, along with my expectation from Yahweh.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "broken", "teeth", "gravel", "covered", and "ashes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "broken" and "teeth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "He has filled me with bitterness He..." into verse 17's "You have removed my soul far away...", so "broken" and "teeth" 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 "broken" and "teeth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.