Bible Strands
Lamentations 3:25
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator of Lamentations speaks these words in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction, immediately following his declaration that Yahweh remains his portion. The passage functions as a theological anchor within a prolonged meditation on communal and personal suffering.
The words — The Hebrew טוֹב (tov) literally means "good" or "beneficial," functioning as the predicate for Yahweh’s character. The phrase לְקוֹיָו (le-qovav) translates to "to those who wait," while נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) denotes the "soul" or "person" who actively seeks Him.
The thread — This motif of patient expectation appears in Micah 7:7, Isaiah 40:31, and Psalms 130:5, where waiting is consistently paired with divine response, strength renewal, and anchored hope. The biblical pattern treats waiting not as inactivity but as sustained orientation toward God.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to maintain active, patient waiting and deliberate seeking rather than demanding immediate relief. It asks for a practical posture of trust that aligns personal hope with God’s established goodness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Cross-references
- Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Psalms 130:5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
- Lamentations 3:26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
- Psalms 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
- Psalms 40:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Psalms 27:14 Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
- Psalms 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- Isaiah 25:9 And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
- Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.