Lamentations 3:9 (YLT)

Passage

He hath hedged my ways with hewn work, My paths He hath made crooked.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 3:7 He hath hedged me about, and I go not out, He hath made heavy my fetter.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "hedged", "ways", "hewn", "paths", and "crooked". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "hedged", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Also when I call and cry out..." into verse 10's "A bear lying in wait He FI...", so "hath" and "hedged" 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 "hath" and "hedged" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.