Lamentations / Question
The speaker says, “The LORD is my portion,” and therefore he will hope in him. This comes in the section recalling God’s mercies and faithfulness (Lamentations 3:24).
In Lamentations 3:21–24, the speaker makes a deliberate mental turn: instead of staying with pain, he chooses to recall something specific about Yahweh’s steady care. That remembered truth becomes the reason he can still expect good ahead. He says they have not been wiped out because Yahweh’s loyal love and compassion do not run out. These lines sit inside a long first-person poem in chapter 3 where the speaker describes severe suffering, confusion, and a sense of being hemmed in, then pivots toward renewed expectation. The shift is signaled by “This I recall,” which marks a move from describing what has happened to choosing what to dwell on.
These verses describe a conscious shift in attention. The speaker “recalls” something specific about Yahweh, and that remembered truth becomes the stated reason he has hope (verse 21).
A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.
Start with Lamentations 3:24, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
24Yahweh is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.