Lamentations 3:24
“The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Within Lamentations 3, after recalling the Lord's mercies that are new every morning, the writer makes a personal resolution of trust. Having lost the city, the temple, and his ordinary supports, he confesses that God Himself is his true inheritance and so chooses to place his hope in Him.
What Does Lamentations 3:24 Mean?
Lamentations 3:24 is a personal declaration of trust: "The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." A "portion" is one's allotted inheritance, the share that belongs to a person. When Israel divided the land, the priestly tribe of Levi received no territory, for the Lord Himself was their portion and inheritance. Here the grieving writer, who has lost almost everything, makes that same confession his own: when houses, city, and security are stripped away, God remains -- and God is enough.
The phrase "saith my soul" shows this is not a borrowed creed but a conviction spoken from the depths of the inner self. The writer is preaching to his own soul, choosing to declare what he believes even when his circumstances scream otherwise. And from that confession flows hope: "therefore will I hope in him." Because God Himself is his inheritance, the writer has a reason to wait expectantly, no matter how dark the present. This verse teaches that the deepest security is not in possessions, which can be lost, but in God, who cannot. When everything else is taken, the one who can say "the LORD is my portion" still possesses the only treasure that lasts -- and that treasure becomes the ground of unshakable hope.
In the Original Language
The Hebrew cheleq means portion, share, or inheritance, and yachal means to wait or hope expectantly -- the hope grounded in possessing God Himself as one's portion.
Cross References
“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
- Psalm 73:26
“The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.”
- Psalm 16:5
“The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”
- Lamentations 3:25
Application
Ask yourself what you are counting on for security. Possessions, status, and circumstances can all be taken away, but God cannot. Learn to say, as the writer did, "The LORD is my portion" -- and let that confession become the source of your hope. When God Himself is your treasure, you can hope in Him through any loss.