The Meaning of Lamentations 3:4 Explained

Lamentations 3:4

KJV: My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

YLT: He hath worn out my flesh and my skin. He hath broken my bones.

Darby: My flesh and my skin hath he wasted away, he hath broken my bones.

ASV: My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

My flesh  and my skin  hath he made old;  he hath broken  my bones. 

What does Lamentations 3:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah"s suffering included sickness and pain, as when someone does not get enough food to eat or breaks a bone (cf. Psalm 42:10; Proverbs 5:11). Fever pains sometimes resemble the pain of a broken bone (cf. Lamentations 1:13-14; Job 30:17; Psalm 32:3-4; Psalm 51:8; Isaiah 38:13). He may have experienced these physical ailments, or he may have simply described his inner pain in terms of physical afflictions.

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 3:4 mean?

He has aged my flesh and my skin and broken my bones
בִּלָּ֤ה בְשָׂרִי֙ וְעוֹרִ֔י שִׁבַּ֖ר עַצְמוֹתָֽי

בִּלָּ֤ה  He  has  aged 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּלָה  
Sense: to wear out, become old.
בְשָׂרִי֙  my  flesh 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בָּשָׂר  
Sense: flesh.
וְעוֹרִ֔י  and  my  skin 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עֹור  
Sense: skin, hide.
שִׁבַּ֖ר  and  broken 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
עַצְמוֹתָֽי  my  bones 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: עֶצֶם 
Sense: bone, essence, substance.