I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.

LAMENTATIONS 3:55KJV
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Lamentations 3:55 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 3:55 mean?

Lamentations 3:55 describes someone calling out to the LORD from a place of deep distress, described as a “low dungeon.” The verse shows a moment of desperate prayer, reaching out to God from a situation that feels hopeless and confining.

The speaker in Lamentations 3:55 is traditionally understood to be Jeremiah, expressing his own suffering or representing the suffering of Jerusalem after its destruction. The “low dungeon” suggests a literal or figurative pit, emphasizing how far the speaker feels from help or hope. This verse highlights the act of turning to God even from the darkest, most desperate places.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 3:55

  • “Called” (קָרָא, qara’): This word means to cry out, call, or summon. In this context, it emphasizes an urgent plea for help, not just a casual mention.
  • “Name” (שֵׁם, shem): Referring to God’s name here means calling on God’s character and authority, not just saying a word. It shows a personal and direct appeal to God.
  • “LORD” (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, highlighting a relationship rather than a distant deity.
  • “Low” (תַּחְתִּיּוֹן, takhtiyyon): This word means “lowest” or “bottommost,” stressing the depth of the speaker’s trouble.
  • “Dungeon” (בּוֹר, bor): This word often means a pit or cistern, sometimes used as a prison or place of abandonment. It paints a vivid picture of isolation and helplessness.

Why Lamentations 3:55 matters

  • Lamentations 3:55 clarifies that even from the lowest and darkest places, it is possible to reach out to God, showing that prayer is not limited by circumstance.
  • The verse connects personal suffering to the larger story of Jerusalem’s fall, giving voice to both individual and communal pain.
  • By using strong words for depth and confinement, the verse emphasizes just how desperate the situation was, making the act of calling out to God even more striking.

Where else these words appear

“low” Hebrew H8482 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
  • Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
  • Ezekiel 26:20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

“dungeon” Hebrew H953 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 37:20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,
  • Jeremiah 6:7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.