Lamentations 3:10 (YLT)

Passage

A bear lying in wait He <FI>is<Fi> to me, A lion in secret hiding-places.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:8 Also when I call and cry out, He hath shut out my prayer.

Lamentations 3:9 He hath hedged my ways with hewn work, My paths He hath made crooked.

Lamentations 3:10 A bear lying in wait He <FI>is<Fi> to me, A lion in secret hiding-places.

Lamentations 3:11 My ways He is turning aside, and He pulleth me in pieces, He hath made me a desolation.

Lamentations 3:12 He hath trodden His bow, And setteth me up as a mark for an arrow.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bear", "lying", "wait", "lion", "secret", and "hiding-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 hedged my ways with hewn..." into verse 11's "My ways He is turning aside 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.