Lamentations 3:62 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 3:62 mean?

Lamentations 3:62 describes the constant hostility the speaker faces from people who have turned against him. Their speech and their plans are directed at him throughout the day, and he brings that trouble before God.

After asking God to hear their reproach in verse 61, the speaker points to their “lips,” a way of drawing attention to what they say. “Their device” adds the idea of what they are devising against him, not merely the words they speak aloud.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 3:62

• “lips” — שָׂפָה (safah): This word can mean the lips used for speaking. Here the body part points to the speech of the speaker’s opponents.
• “device” — הִגָּיוֹן (higgayon): This word can refer to thought or what someone thinks about. In this verse, the KJV’s “device” suggests something the opponents are devising against the speaker.

Why Lamentations 3:62 matters

• The speaker’s complaint is part of a direct appeal to God. In verse 61, he says God has heard the opponents’ reproach and their plans, and verse 62 continues that appeal.
• The words against the speaker are linked with ridicule in the surrounding passage. Verse 63 asks God to look at the opponents when they sit and rise, and says the speaker is their song.
• The repeated phrase “against me” makes the complaint personal. The speaker presents both the opponents’ speech and their devising as aimed at him.