The Meaning of Lamentations 3:29 Explained

Lamentations 3:29

KJV: He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

YLT: He putteth in the dust his mouth, if so be there is hope.

Darby: he putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope;

ASV: Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He putteth  his mouth  in the dust;  if so be there may be  hope. 

What does Lamentations 3:29 Mean?

Verse Meaning

He should also humble himself since there is hope that God will help him.
"The expression is derived from the Oriental custom of throwing oneself in the most reverential manner on the ground, and involves the idea of humble silence, because the mouth, placed in the dust, cannot speak." [1]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Lamentations 3:29 mean?

Let him put in the dust his mouth yet be there may hope
יִתֵּ֤ן בֶּֽעָפָר֙ פִּ֔יהוּ אוּלַ֖י יֵ֥שׁ תִּקְוָֽה

יִתֵּ֤ן  Let  him  put 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
בֶּֽעָפָר֙  in  the  dust 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
פִּ֔יהוּ  his  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
אוּלַ֖י  yet  be 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אוּלַי  
Sense: perhaps, peradventure.
יֵ֥שׁ  there  may 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
תִּקְוָֽה  hope 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תִּקְוָה 
Sense: cord.