Let him bury his face in the dust—perhaps there is still hope.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.
- KJV He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
- NKJV Let him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope.
- NASB Let him put his mouth in the dust; Perhaps there is hope.
- NLT Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Deep humility before God ('mouth in the dust') is fitting, and even then there may still be hope.
Overview
To put one's mouth in the dust pictures utter lowliness and self-abasement before the Lord. The poet holds out the possibility ('if so be there may be hope') that God may yet show mercy. Such humbling that clings to hope anticipates the gospel pattern: those who humble themselves God exalts (Luke 18:13-14; James 4:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 40:4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
- Joel 2:14Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
- Luke 18:13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
- 2 Chr 33:12And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.
- Luke 15:18–19I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Jer 31:17So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.
- Jonah 3:9Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”
- Job 42:5–6My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.
- Zeph 2:3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
- Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Ezek 16:63so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.