Bible Strands
Lamentations 3:39
Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses the mourning community of Judah in the immediate aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction, following a meditation on God’s sovereign control over both prosperity and hardship.
The words — The Hebrew `yit.'o.Nen` (will he complain) and `chet.'o/v` (his sins) frame the rhetorical question that links human grievance directly to personal wrongdoing.
The thread — This theme of personal accountability under divine discipline appears in Proverbs 19:3 and Micah 7:9, where human folly and sin provoke God’s anger rather than warranting complaint against Him.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers stop blaming external circumstances and instead examine their own conduct, recognizing that repentance is the only appropriate response to suffering.
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
Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Cross-references
- Proverbs 19:3 A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
- Micah 7:9 Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.
- Genesis 4:5 but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
- Jeremiah 30:15 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.
- Genesis 4:13 But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- Leviticus 26:41 and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
- Leviticus 26:43 For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes.
- Numbers 11:11 So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?
- Numbers 17:12 Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we are perishing! We are lost; we are all lost!
- Joshua 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.