Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Lamentations 3:17
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgot prosperity.
17. thou hast removed (mg. cast off) my soul ] The change to the second person is abrupt. LXX have “he has thrust away,” the Syr. (and so Targ.) “my soul is thrust away,” but, as Pe. remarks, this is improbable in view of Lam 3:31. The writer there, however, need not be the same as here; see intr. note. By adopting the 3rd person we should avoid the introduction of a direct address to God, which seems not to come earlier than Lam 3:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 17. Thou hast removed my soul] Prosperity is at such an utter distance from me, that it is impossible I should ever reach it; and as to happiness, I have forgotten whether I have ever tasted of it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Peace here signifieth prosperity, rather than a freedom from war. Though during the siege they were far from peace in a strict sense, yet in their captivity they had that peace; but both their minds were far off from quiet, and their persons from prosperity: the prophet owneth God as the cause of this. They had in Canaan lived prosperously, but now they thought of it no more, nor understood what such a thing meant.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. Not only present, but allhope of future prosperity is removed; so much so, that I am as onewho never was prosperous (“I forgat prosperity”).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace,…. From the time the city was besieged by the Chaldeans, and now the people was carried captive; who could have no true peace, being in a foreign land, in an enemy’s country, and out of their own, and far from the place of divine worship; nor could the prophet have any peace of soul, in the consideration of these things, the city, temple, and nation, being desolate, though he himself was not in captivity.
I forgat prosperity; or “good” q; he had been so long from the enjoyment of it, that he had lost the idea of it, and was thoughtless about it, never expecting to see it any more.
q “bonorum”, V. L. “boni”, Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
By saying that his soul was remote from peace, he means that no good remained; for by peace, as it is well known, the Hebrews understood every kind of prosperity. And he explains himself by another clause, that, he had forgotten every good; and this forgetfulness ought to be understood, so to speak, as real or entire; for if there had been any reason for rejoicing, it would not have been forgotten; for all are naturally pleased with what is pleasant, nay, they with avidity seek what delights them. It would then be contrary to nature to forget things good and pleasant, to us. But the Prophet means here a privation. Hence the forgetfulness of which he speaks is nothing else but alienation from everything good, as though he had said (as the previous clause shews) that he was removed from every hope of peace.
But the expression is much more emphatical, when he says, that his soul was far removed from peace. By soul he does not mean himself only, (for that would be frigid,) but he understands by it all things connected with him, as though he had said, “Wherever I look around me, I find no peace, and no hope appears to me.” Hence it was, that all the faculties of his soul were far removed from all experience of good things. It follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) Thou hast removed my soul far off from peace.The verb is found in this sense in Psa. 88:14. By some critics it is taken as passive, and in the 3rd person feminine. My soul loathes peace, i.e., has lost even the desire of better things; or, My soul is despised of peace, i.e., is shut out from it. But the Authorised version is preferable.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Hast removed my soul far off from peace Other renderings of this verse have been proposed, but this is to be preferred, and is really beautiful. It is substantially a quotation from Psa 88:14, and its very quietness and simplicity are pathetic. The tide of the common ruin had borne the complainer far away from the peace and prosperity which Israel had once known.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lam 3:17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
Ver. 17. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace. ] Prosperity and I are twain; we are utterly unacquainted.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
thou: Lam 1:16, Psa 119:155, Isa 38:17, Isa 54:10, Isa 59:11, Jer 8:15, Jer 14:19, Jer 16:5, Zec 8:10
I forgat: Gen 41:30, Job 7:7, Jer 20:14-18
prosperity: Heb. good
Reciprocal: Psa 77:3 – I complained Joh 14:1 – not Joh 14:27 – not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lam 3:17. Soul is from nephesh which Strong defines, A breathing creature, i.e, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental).’ From this definition we understand the passage means that Jeremiahs entire being was denied peace. Format means to be removed and prosperity means the good things of life generally; these had been removed from the prophet through his connection with the nation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jeremiah had forgotten what peace and happiness were like. He had also lost his strength and his hope.