Lamentations 3:43
New International Version
“You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity.

New Living Translation
“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.

English Standard Version
“You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity;

Berean Standard Bible
You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.

King James Bible
Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

New King James Version
You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and not pitied.

New American Standard Bible
You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and have not spared.

NASB 1995
You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and have not spared.

NASB 1977
Thou hast covered Thyself with anger And pursued us; Thou hast slain and hast not spared.

Legacy Standard Bible
You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have killed and have not spared.

Amplified Bible
You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain [without pity] and have not spared.

Christian Standard Bible
“You have covered yourself in anger and pursued us; you have killed without compassion.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without compassion.

American Standard Version
Thou hast covered with anger and pursued us; thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

Contemporary English Version
Anger is written all over you, as you pursue and slaughter us without showing pity.

English Revised Version
Thou hast covered with anger and pursued us; thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You covered yourself with anger and pursued us. You killed without pity.

Good News Translation
"You pursued us and killed us; your mercy was hidden by your anger,

International Standard Version
Clothing yourself with anger, you pursued us. You killed without pity,

Majority Standard Bible
You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity.

NET Bible
You shrouded yourself with anger and then pursued us; you killed without mercy.

New Heart English Bible
You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you killed without sparing.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

World English Bible
“You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You have covered Yourself with anger, "" And pursue us; You have slain—You have not pitied.

Young's Literal Translation
Thou hast covered Thyself with anger, And dost pursue us; Thou hast slain -- Thou hast not pitied.

Smith's Literal Translation
Thou didst cover with anger, and thou wilt pursue us: thou didst slay, thou didst not pity.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Samech. Thou hast covered in thy wrath, and hast struck us: thou hast killed and hast not spared.

Catholic Public Domain Version
SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.

New American Bible
You wrapped yourself in wrath and pursued us, killing without pity;

New Revised Standard Version
You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Thou hast covered us with thy anger and pursued us; thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Samekh You have overshadowed in your anger and you pursued us and you killed and you did not pity
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Thou hast covered with anger and pursued us; Thou hast slain unsparingly.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
SAMECH. Thou has visited us in wrath, and driven us away: thou has slain, thou has not pitied.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Justice
42“We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.” 43You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity. 44You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 30:14-15
All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins. / Why do you cry out over your wound? Your pain has no cure! Because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins I have done these things to you.

Isaiah 64:7
No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

Ezekiel 7:8-9
Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and vent My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations. / I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes the blow.

Jeremiah 4:8
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”

Hosea 5:14-15
For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them. / Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

Deuteronomy 31:17-18
On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’ / And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.

Psalm 90:7-9
For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath. / You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. / For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

Jeremiah 14:19
Have You rejected Judah completely? Do You despise Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We hoped for peace, but no good has come, and for the time of healing, but there was only terror.

Ezekiel 39:23-24
And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity, because they were unfaithful to Me. So I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword. / I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid My face from them.

2 Kings 17:18-20
So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained, / and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced. / So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.

Isaiah 54:8
In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer.

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

Hebrews 10:30-31
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.” / It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Revelation 6:16-17
And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. / For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”


Treasury of Scripture

You have covered with anger, and persecuted us: you have slain, you have not pitied.

covered

Lamentations 2:1
How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!

Psalm 44:19
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

persecuted

Lamentations 3:66
Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.

Psalm 83:15
So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.

thou hast slain

Lamentations 2:2,17,21
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof…

2 Chronicles 36:16,17
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy…

Ezekiel 7:9
And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.

Jump to Previous
Anger Covered Covering Cutting Killed Persecuted Pitied Pity Pursued Slain Slaying Spared Thyself Unsparingly Wrapped Wrath
Jump to Next
Anger Covered Covering Cutting Killed Persecuted Pitied Pity Pursued Slain Slaying Spared Thyself Unsparingly Wrapped Wrath
Lamentations 3
1. The prophet bewails his own calamities
22. By the mercies of God, he nourishes his hope
37. He acknowledges God's justice
55. He prays for deliverance
64. And vengeance on his enemies














You have covered Yourself in anger
The phrase "covered Yourself in anger" uses the Hebrew root word "עָטָה" (atah), which means to wrap or envelop. This imagery suggests that God's anger is not a fleeting emotion but a deliberate and encompassing response to the sins of the people. In the historical context of Lamentations, this reflects the period of the Babylonian exile, where God's wrath was a response to the persistent disobedience and idolatry of Israel. Theologically, it serves as a reminder of God's holiness and justice, emphasizing that His anger is righteous and purposeful, aimed at bringing His people back to repentance.

and pursued us
The word "pursued" comes from the Hebrew "רָדַף" (radaph), which conveys the idea of chasing or following closely. This pursuit is not random but intentional, indicating that God's actions are directed towards His people with a specific purpose. Historically, this pursuit can be seen in the relentless advance of the Babylonian armies, which were instruments of God's judgment. Spiritually, it underscores the concept that God, in His sovereignty, allows consequences to follow sin, not out of malice, but as a means to draw His people back to Himself.

You have slain
The term "slain" is derived from the Hebrew "הָרַג" (harag), meaning to kill or destroy. This reflects the severe judgment that fell upon Jerusalem, resulting in death and destruction. In the broader scriptural context, it serves as a sobering reminder of the wages of sin, as outlined in Romans 6:23. Yet, within the narrative of Lamentations, it also points to the hope of restoration, as God's ultimate desire is not to destroy but to redeem and restore His people.

without pity
The phrase "without pity" uses the Hebrew "לֹא חָמַל" (lo chamal), indicating a lack of compassion or mercy. This stark expression highlights the depth of God's judgment when His patience has been exhausted by persistent rebellion. Historically, it reflects the dire circumstances faced by the Israelites during the siege and fall of Jerusalem. However, from a theological perspective, it also serves as a call to repentance, reminding believers of the seriousness of sin and the necessity of turning back to God to receive His mercy and grace, which are abundantly available to those who seek Him with a contrite heart.

(43) Thou hast covered with anger.--Better, as in the next verse, Thou hast covered thyself. Wrath is as the garment in which God wraps Himself to execute His righteous judgments. In Lamentations 3:44 the wrath is represented more definitely as a cloud through which the prayers of the afflicted cannot pass.

Verse 43. - Thou hast covered with anger. The clause seems imperfect; perhaps "thyself" has fallen out of the text (see next verse).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You have covered
סַכֹּ֤תָה (sak·kō·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 5526: To entwine as a, screen, to fence in, cover over, protect

Yourself in anger
בָאַף֙ (ḇā·’ap̄)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 639: The nose, nostril, the face, a person, ire

and pursued us;
וַֽתִּרְדְּפֵ֔נוּ (wat·tir·də·p̄ê·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - second person masculine singular | first person common plural
Strong's 7291: To pursue, chase, persecute

You have killed
הָרַ֖גְתָּ (hā·raḡ·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

without
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

pity.
חָמָֽלְתָּ׃ (ḥā·mā·lə·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2550: To commiserate, to spare


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OT Prophets: Lamentations 3:43 You have covered with anger and pursued (Lam. La Lm)
Lamentations 3:42
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