"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
— Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)
Lamentations 3:22-23 is the "new every morning" and "great is thy faithfulness" passage. This page gives the verses, where they sit in Lamentations, and a plain reading. For more verses on the theme, see Bible verses about God's faithfulness, Bible verses about mercy, and Bible verses about hope.
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The verses
The King James says, "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
"Great love" (KJV "mercies") is chesed (H2617), God's loyal, steadfast love. "Consumed" is tamam (H8552), to be finished or come to an end. "Compassions" is rachamim (H7356), tender mercy. "New" is chadash (H2319), fresh. "Faithfulness" is emunah (H530), firmness, steadiness, being someone you can rely on.
Where it sits in Lamentations
Lamentations is a book of grief over the fall of Jerusalem. It opens, "How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!" (Lamentations 1:1). Chapter 3 begins with the writer describing his own suffering in hard detail.
Then the turn comes: "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope" (Lamentations 3:21). Verses 22-23 are what he calls to mind. Right after, he says, "I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'" (Lamentations 3:24).
What the verses are saying
These lines are not written from an easy place. They come in the middle of a lament, from someone who has lost a great deal. His hope is not that things look good. It is that God's love has not run out and his mercy shows up fresh each day.
"New every morning" means you do not have to live on yesterday's mercy. The hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" takes its title from verse 23. For more, see Bible verses about God's love, Bible verses about new beginnings, and Bible verses about trust.
Questions people ask
What does Lamentations 3:22-23 say?
In the NIV: "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." The KJV ends, "They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
Where is "his mercies are new every morning" in the Bible?
It is Lamentations 3:22-23. The KJV says God's "compassions fail not. They are new every morning."
Is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" from the Bible?
Yes. The hymn's title comes from Lamentations 3:23 in the KJV, "great is thy faithfulness."
What comes before Lamentations 3:22?
Verse 21 says, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope." The writer moves from describing his suffering to remembering who God is.
What verse goes well with Lamentations 3:22-23?
Psalm 34:18 says, "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted." Isaiah 40:31 and Jeremiah 29:11 also speak of hope in hard seasons.
