Verse 24 brings to a close this section containing the first person singular pronouns.

The LORD is my portion picks up a thought from Numbers 18.20, in which Aaron, as representative of Israel’s priests, is told by the LORD, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance….” So here the poet says the LORD is his portion or inheritance. In many languages it is not possible to say that one possesses God as does Good News Translation, “The LORD is all I have.” The sense of The LORD is my portion may often be rendered, for example, “I trust God and I need nothing more,” “God is everything; I need nothing else,” or “I need nothing because God is with me.”

Says my soul is not translated by Good News Translation. However, translators may retain this expression as revealing the poet’s innermost thoughts and introducing a direct quote: “I say this: ‘The LORD is all I need’ ”; or “I say it like this: ‘The LORD is what I have inherited.’ ”

The consequence of everything from verse 22 up to this point is expressed as therefore I will hope in him. For hope see verse 21. Hope as an action may be translated, for example, “I put my trust in him,” “I look to him with confidence,” or “I wait for him because I trust him.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .