Lamentations 3:20 - Exposition

My soul, etc. This rendering is difficult. In the next verse we read, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope," which seems inconsistent with Lamentations 3:20 as given in the Authorized Version. An equally grammatical and still more obvious translation is, Thou ( O God! ) wilt surely remember, for my soul is bowed down within me. The latter part of the line is a reminiscence of Psalms 42:5 , at least, if the text be correct, for the closing words do not cohere well with the opening ones. The Peshito (Syriac) has, "Remember, and revive [literally, 'cause to return'] my soul within me," which involves a slightly different reading of one word. But more tempting than any other view of the meaning is that of Bickell, though it involves a correction and an insertion, "My soul remembereth well and meditateth on thy faithfulness."