Lamentations 3:15 Meaning and Explanation
“He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →He has been filled to overflowing with bitterness, made to drink wormwood until he is drunk with it.
What Does Lamentations 3:15 Mean?
The sufferer describes being saturated with sorrow. He is 'filled with bitterness' and 'made drunken with wormwood,' a plant proverbial for its bitter taste. The cup of grief has been pressed on him until he is overcome by it, as wine overcomes the drunkard. There is no measured sip here; he has been made to drink the bitter draught to the dregs.
Wormwood becomes a kind of refrain in this chapter for the taste of affliction. The image of being made 'drunken' captures how suffering can disorient and overwhelm the senses, leaving a person reeling. The poem records the full bitterness so that we will not mistake what comes next for mere positive thinking. The hope of verse twenty-two is wrung from a mouth still tasting wormwood.
Lamentations 3:15 in the Original Language
la'anah (לַעֲנָה), 'wormwood' -- a proverbially bitter plant, the very taste of affliction.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 3:15
What does Lamentations 3:15 mean?
He has been filled to overflowing with bitterness, made to drink wormwood until he is drunk with it.