Lamentations 3:12

Lam 3:12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

Ver. 12. He hath bent his bow.] Lam 2:4.

And set me as a mark.] Which he is sure to hit. The Benjamites, {Jdg 20:16} the Parthians, Alcon the Cretan, Domitian the Emperor, were excellent archers; but

“ Non semper feriet quodcunque minabitur arcus; ”

God’s arrow never misseth the mark.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:12 Cp. Job 6:4.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(Job 7:20).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.] One might conjecture that the following thought in the Toozek i Teemour was borrowed from this: -

"One addressed the caliph Aaly, and said, 'If the heavens were a bow, and the earth the cord thereof; if calamities were arrows, man the butt for those arrows; and the holy blessed God the unerring marksman; where could the sons of Adam flee for succour?' The caliph replied, 'The children of Adam must flee unto the Lord.'" This was the state of poor Jerusalem. It seemed as a butt for all God's arrows; and each arrow of calamity entered into the soul, for God was the unerring marksman.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Here the Prophet introduces another metaphor, that God had shot him with arrows, as he was made a mark to them. Jeremiah has elsewhere often used the word מתרא, methera, for a prison; but here it means a mark at which arrows are leveled, and such is its meaning in Job 16:12, where there is a similar complaint made. The meaning is, that the people, in whose name Jeremiah speaks, had been like marks, because God had directed against them all his arrows. It is, indeed, a fearful thing when God aims at us, that he may discharge his darts and arrows in order to hit and wound us. But as God had so grievously afflicted his people, that he seemed to have poured forth all his vengeance, the Prophet justly complains that the people had been like marks for arrows.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(12) He hath bent his bow.—(Comp. Job_16:12.) The figure is changed, but there is a natural sequence of thought. The lion suggests the huntsman. but he appears on the scene not to save the victim, but to complete the work of destruction.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12, 13. Jehovah is now likened not to the beast of prey, but to the hunter. Cp. Job_16:12 f.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He hath bent his bow,.... Which is put for all the instruments, of war; the Chaldeans were archers, and shot their arrows into the city:

and set me as a mark for the arrow; as a target to shoot at; signifying that God dealt with him, or his people, as enemies, the object of his wrath and indignation; and if he directed his arrow against them, it must needs hit them; there was no escaping his vengeance; see Job 7:20.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Arrows. Such places were common where shooting was practised, 1 Kings xx. 36., and Job xvi. 11.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He hath prepared himself for acts of vindicative justice, and he hath made me the object of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Bent his bow — From the wild beast which is hunted, the figure now changes to the hunter, who is armed with bow and arrow. So the intensity of the whole passage is promoted. Not only the beast of prey, but also the hunter, is against him.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Set me as a mark. Precisely as Job complains of Jehovah, "He hath set me up for his mark". (Job_16:13)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

God is often spoken of as if he were a warrior.

He bent his bow

A soldier has to bend his bow in order to shoot an arrow from it. The author speaks of God deciding to cause him trouble as if God were a warrior ready to shoot him with an arrow. See how you translated this in Lamentations 2:4. AT: "It was as if God made his bow ready to shoot"

He pierced my kidneys with the arrows of his quiver

The author speaks of the deep grief he feels as if God had shot his kidneys with an arrow. AT: "My grief is great. It is as if he pierced my kidneys with the arrows of his quiver" (See: Metaphor)

my kidneys

The kidneys are abdominal organs that move urine into the bladder. They are a metaphor for a person's emotions. AT: "deep into my body" or 2) "my heart" (See: Metaphor)

quiver

a bag worn on the back in which to store arrows

a laughingstock to all my people

The word "all" is a generalization, meaning "most." AT: "a laughingstock to most of my people" or "someone whom all my people mock" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

laughingstock

someone whom many people mock

He filled me with bitterness

Here "bitterness" represents suffering. It is referred to as if it were something that could fill the speaker. AT: "He has caused me to suffer very much" (See: Metaphor)

forced me to drink wormwood

Wormwood is the bitter juice from the leaves and flowers of a certain plant. Drinking that bitter juice represents suffering. AT: "it is as though he forced me to drink something very bitter" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

bow and arrow

people group

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and set me up as a target He set me up opposite His arrows to shoot at me like a target, asenayl in Old French, target.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.