the wormwood and the gall
"Wormwood" is a bitter plant, often symbolizing sorrow and calamity in the Bible (Proverbs 5:4; Revelation 8:11). "Gall" refers to a bitter substance, sometimes associated with poison or extreme bitterness (Deuteronomy 29:18; Matthew 27:34). Together, these terms emphasize the intense bitterness and suffering experienced by the speaker. The imagery of bitterness is also prophetic, pointing to the suffering of Christ, who was offered gall to drink during His crucifixion (Matthew 27:34). This connection underscores the theme of redemptive suffering, as Christ's afflictions bring hope and salvation, paralleling the lamenter's hope for divine mercy amidst suffering.

“Remember …” (Lamentations 3:19) is Jeremiah’s cry that God would actively keep in mind what His servant is enduring.

• The word signals an appeal to covenant faithfulness, much as Moses pleaded, “Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 32:13).

• Psalm 106:4 models the same confidence: “Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people.”

• Jeremiah knows God does not forget (Isaiah 49:15-16), yet invites Him to act as though freshly stirred to mercy (Psalm 25:7).

The verse begins, then, with faith that the Lord’s memory moves His hand.

“…my affliction…” points to tangible suffering—siege, hunger, violence—that fell on Judah and personally on Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:15; 38:6).

• God had earlier assured, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people” (Exodus 3:7), so the prophet confidently names it.

• Psalm 119:50 frames affliction as a context where God’s word revives; Jeremiah is pressing for that same revival now.

• In New-Covenant light, Paul echoes the theme: “our momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

“…and wandering…” captures the homelessness, displacement, and restless grief of a nation torn from its land (Deuteronomy 28:64; 2 Kings 25:11-12).

• Jeremiah personally endured forced marches (Jeremiah 40:1).

• Psalm 56:8 assures that God tracks every wanderer’s steps—“You have counted my tossings”—so the plea again leans on divine attentiveness.

• Isaiah 53:6 later ties our spiritual condition to wandering, driving us to the Shepherd who gathers strays (John 10:11).

“…the wormwood…” introduces the bitter herb that pictures poisoned living (Deuteronomy 29:18).

• God had warned rebellious Judah, “I will feed them with wormwood” (Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15), and now the prophecy tastes real.

• Revelation 8:11 employs the same image for judgment on earth’s waters, reinforcing that wormwood equals divinely-allowed bitterness.

• The prophet is not dramatizing; he is naming the literal, God-sent bitterness of sin’s fallout.

“…and the gall.” Gall is bile—sharp, nauseating bitterness. Together with wormwood it paints the full flavor of judgment.

• Deuteronomy 32:32 describes Israel’s apostasy as “grapes of gall.”

• At Calvary they offered Jesus wine mixed with gall (Matthew 27:34), and He refused, choosing to drain judgment Himself.

• Peter warns Simon of “the gall of bitterness” (Acts 8:23), showing the phrase became a shorthand for sin’s toxic residue.

Jeremiah’s mention signals he has swallowed the consequences of national rebellion and longs for cleansing.

Lamentations 3:19 is Jeremiah’s layered plea: “LORD, call to mind every ounce of the anguish—affliction, homelessness, poisoned bitterness—that You Yourself have witnessed and, in justice, allowed. Because You remember, You can also redeem.” The verse is not mere complaint; it is strategic remembrance that positions the prophet—and us—to look for the steadfast love and fresh mercies that follow in verses 22-23.