Bible Strands
Lamentations 3:55
I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses Yahweh directly while submerged in floodwaters that threaten death. This declaration occurs immediately after the narrator describes waters flowing over his head and just before he records God hearing his plea for relief.
The words — קָרָאתִי (ka.Ra.ti) literally means "I called," and תַּחְתִּיּוֹת (tach.ti.Yot) denotes the "lowest parts" or depths of the pit. These terms anchor the speaker’s invocation in a place of utter confinement.
The thread — The motif of crying out from a pit or depths recurs in Psalms 18:5, where death’s snares confront the speaker. It parallels 2 Chronicles 33:11, where captivity prompts a turn to God, and stands in contrast to the physical restraint described in Acts 16:24.
Why it lands — The text records a direct appeal to God from a place of imminent drowning before noting God’s response. It requires the reader to recognize that invocation precedes deliverance and that divine attention is directed toward those who name Him in confinement.
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
I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.
Cross-references
- Acts 16:24 On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
- 2 Chronicles 33:11 So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
- Psalms 18:5 The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
- 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 69:13 But my prayer to You, O LORD, is for a time of favor. In Your abundant loving devotion, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation.
- Psalms 116:3 The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
- Psalms 130:1 A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Psalms 142:3 Although my spirit grows faint within me, You know my way. Along the path I travel they have hidden a snare for me.
- Jeremiah 38:6 So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
- Jonah 2:2 saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.