Lamentations3:23
Previous VerseTranslation
They are new and fresh
Go to footnote numberevery dawn;
Go to footnote numbergreat
Go to footnote numberis your faithfulness!
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
His loving mercy and compassion are new and fresh at the breaking of each new day. Great is your faithfulness [to yourself]!
Footnotes
1
This word means both “new and fresh.”
2
While this word is often rendered “morning,” it is specific to “the point in time when light begins to penetrate the darkness.” Thus it means “daybreak, or dawn.”
3
This word can mean “many, great or chief.” Here “great” works best because it is followed by a singular noun.
4
This word can be rendered “fidelity, faithfulness, firmness, steadfastness.”
To Whom Is God Faithful?
God’s mercy, love, and kindness are not shown to us because He is faithful to us, but rather because He is faithful to Himself. There is nothing within us that can oblige Him to show us mercy. However, there is much within Him that obliges Him to show us mercy and compassion. It is His nature and character to show us mercy and compassion. Yes, we are His creation, but since man has violated God’s covenants, we deserve nothing but punishment. Yet God is faithful to Himself and therefore He provides us with a fresh start every daybreak. The first rays of visible light each dawn show us that God is merciful, loving, compassionate and kind.