The relatively short five chapter Old Testament Bible book isn’t used very much these days. In fact, many Christians are unaware that the book even exists, and even many of those who are aware, would struggle to find its place in the Bible. This is ironic, because an older song often sung in Christian Church services, weddings and funerals, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, is based on Lamentations 3:22-23. Yahweh, the Most High God, is mentioned a number of times, Jesus Christ is possibly referred once, and the holy Spirit isn’t mentioned at all in this relatively short book. We’ll examine its contents thoroughly to see whether we find evidence for, or against, the Trinity doctrine. Is the Trinity doctrine in Lamentations?

THE NAME YAHWEH REMOVED 

“The Lord has put me into clutches which I am helpless to resist. ‘The Lord has rejected all my warriors within my walls . . . in the winepress the Lord trampled the young daughter of Judah'” (Lamentations 1:14-15  NJB)—“Here and elsewhere below, ‘the Lord’ represents the Masoretic reading of the sacred name ‘Yahweh’ (pronounced adonai, lit. ‘my Lord’), which passed into the written text instead of the name itself. The original word, YHWH, is preserved in a few MSS.” (NJB note). Bullinger writes in the Companion Bible; “Out of extreme (but mistaken) reverence for the Ineffable Name Yehovah’, the ancient custodians of the Sacred Text substituted in many places ‘Adonai.” (Appendix 32, p. 31). These documented changes in Lamentations are 1:14,15; 2:1,2,5,7,18,19,20; 3:31,36,37,58.

Here, we have solid evidence of the change from “Yahweh” to “Lord” in the Hebrew manuscripts, Long before the Christian Trinity was formulated in the 4th century CE, the identity of the unique one true God, Yahweh, was being camouflaged by an unauthorized substitute for his name. This practice only increased over time, so that most Bible translations omit virtually all of the almost 7,000 appearances of God’s name from the text in the Bible’s Old Testament. Such practice flagrantly violates the Biblical principle, ‘not to add to, or take away from God’s word’ (Revelation 22:18,19; Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:5,6).

“The LORD has rejected all my warriors in the midst of me” (Lamentations 1:15 NRSV). This translation’s rendering “the LORD”, like so many other translations, acknowledges the substitution for “Yahweh” in the Hebrew text in its preface. Notice the following review and analysis of the NRSV’s reasoning:

the Old Testament (OT) still hides God’s personal name Yahweh behind “LORD.” In perpetuating this bad habit among translations, the NRSV preface offers the most bizarre defense I’ve yet read. The preface alleges that it is “inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church” to imply that “there were other gods from whom the true God had to be distinguished” (p. xii). But — aren’t there? I seem to recall that Israel made a rough go of it learning this very fact! Yet say this, apparently with a straight face, in spite of the fact that the preface had just allowed that it is “almost …certain that the Name was originally pronounced “Yahweh” (pp. xi, xii). So the upshot seems to be: we know what God’s name was, but we just do not want to use it. The committee evidently felt itself fit to improve on the Bible’s communication of Christian faith, inasmuch as God’s personal name is found some 6823 times in the Hebrew text of the OT.—-A New Revised Standard Version, by Daniel j Phillips, 1990

“LORD JEHOVAH has delivered me into the hands of him whose power I cannot match. LORD JEHOVAH has subdued all my mighty ones within me. He has called against me a feast day to destroy my young men. LORD JEHOVAH has trodden the winepress the virgin daughter of Yehuda” (Lamentations 1:14-15 Peshitta Holy Bible Translated). This translation from the Aramaic Peshitta Version renders God’s name “YHWH” as the Latinized hybrid name”JEHOVAH”, but at least it restores God’s name to the Biblical text, which was admittedly removed by the Jewish Sopherim (copyists), as noted in their “Emendations” (Corrections).

Knowledge of the removal of God’s name Yahweh from the Biblical text helps us to see that the Trinity doctrine is not in Lamentations.

YAHWEH IS THE ALMIGHTY MOST HIGH GOD

“Yahweh has done what He purposed; He has completed His word” (Lamentations 2:17 LSB). – Yahweh does whatever he wants, and has decided in advance. “He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand” (Daniel 4:35 NIV). Compare that to Jesus, who admitted, “the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing” (John 5:19 NET Bible). The scriptures prove false that the Son, Jesus, is Almighty, equal to the Father.

“The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail . . . ‘Yahweh is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I wait for Him.’ Yahweh is good to those who hope in Him . . . It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of Yahweh. In the presence of the Most High . . . Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good go forth” (Lamentations 3:22,24-26,35,38 LSB). Here, Yahweh is clearly portrayed as Almighty God the Father (“the Most High”) from whom flow lovingkindnesses, compassions, salvation, calamities, and good. No one else in all of scripture is portrayed as being Almighty, which eliminates the Trinity claims that the Son and the holy Spirit are Almighty.

“Who is this that speaks and it was what LORD JEHOVAH has not commanded?” (Lamentations 3:37 PHBT). – We can see from the context here in verse 37 that Yahweh is “the Most High” mentioned in verses 37-38.

“Let us return to Yahweh. We lift up our hands Toward God in heaven” (Lamentations 3:40-41 LSB). – We notice that “Yahweh” is described as being “God in heaven”, a synonym for the supreme being, and is a description which is never applied to anyone else, including the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, “only God in heaven is your Father” (Matthew 23:9 NLT), which agrees with Lamentations that he’s not God.

Without Jesus being Almighty, the Trinity is not in Lamentations.

JESUS CHRIST IS NOT YAHWEH

“The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Yahweh, was captured in their pits” (Lamentations 4:20 LSB). The last king of Judah, Zedekiah, is referred to as ‘the anointed of Yahweh, captured in their pits’. However,“The term “anointed” also has messianic implications, pointing to the ultimate Anointed One, Jesus Christ, who fulfills the role of the perfect king and priest (Psalm 2:2, Acts 4:26-27).” (Bible Hub Study Bible). This verse proves Trinitarians’ claim that “Jesus is Yahweh” to be false, because, by definition, “the anointed of Yahweh” cannot be Yahweh.

“Yet you, Yahweh, rule from eternity; your throne endures from age to age” (Lamentations 5:19 NJB)—Trinitarians claim that Jesus has existed from eternity as Almighty God.“Despite the ruins of his earthly Temple, Yahweh, ever glorious and mighty, reigns in heaven” (NJB note). As we can see from this scripture, Yahweh God has existed and ruled from “eternity” (Psalm 90:2 NAB), in sharp contrast to Jesus, who had an “origin” to his existence (Micah 5:2 NRSV), “died”, “was dead” (1 Corinthians 15:3; Revelation 1:18), and had to be “given . . . a kingdom” (Daniel 7:14 ESV). Jesus did not ‘come into his kingdom’ until after his death and resurrection (Luke 22:42). For these, and other scriptural reasons, Jesus could not be Yahweh.

Without Jesus being Yahweh, the Trinity is not in Lamentations.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

The holy Spirit is not mentioned in the relatively short book of Lamentations, not because it’s not real, but because it did not receive prominent mention in the Old Testament. The fact that it’s not mentioned, means the Trinity doctrine is not found in the book of Lamentations.