And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

LAMENTATIONS 3:17KJV
Know the Bible

Lamentations 3:17 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 3:17 mean?

Lamentations 3:17 describes a deep sense of loss and distress, where the speaker feels that peace has been taken away and that they can no longer remember what it is like to experience good times or well-being. The verse expresses the overwhelming impact of suffering, making past happiness seem distant and forgotten.

The speaker is traditionally understood to be Jeremiah, voicing the pain of Jerusalem after its destruction. He is talking to God, describing how suffering has pushed his soul far from any sense of peace (or "shalom") and made prosperity or goodness seem like a distant memory. This verse sits in the middle of a long lament, highlighting the emotional and spiritual cost of the city’s devastation.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 3:17

  • Peace (שָׁלוֹם, shalom): This word means more than just the absence of conflict; it includes wholeness, well-being, and completeness. The loss of "shalom" here shows that the speaker feels cut off from every kind of well-being, not just physical safety.
  • Prosperity (טוֹב, tov): This word is often translated as "goodness" or "good things." Forgetting "tov" means the speaker cannot even remember what it felt like to experience anything good, underlining the depth of despair.
  • Removed (זָחַק, zāchaq): This word carries the sense of being pushed or driven far away. The speaker’s soul is not just missing peace; it has been actively separated from it, emphasizing the intensity of the alienation.

Why Lamentations 3:17 matters

  • Lamentations 3:17 helps readers understand the emotional reality of those who suffered through Jerusalem’s fall, showing that spiritual and emotional pain can feel as real as physical loss.
  • The verse highlights how suffering can make even memories of better times seem unreachable, which is a common human experience in deep distress.
  • This statement sets up the contrast for later verses in the chapter, where hope and God’s faithfulness begin to re-emerge, making the eventual message of hope more powerful.

Where else these words appear

“forgat” Hebrew H5382 · used in 6 verses

  • Genesis 41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
  • Job 11:6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
  • Isaiah 44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

“removed” Hebrew H2186 · used in 20 verses

  • 1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
  • Psalms 60:1 To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
  • Psalms 108:11 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?