The poet uses metaphors in verse 13 to describe the way in which the LORD had been dealing with Jerusalem. The LORD is the subject of the verbs in each unit, as though to emphasize that Jerusalem’s sufferings were deliberately brought about by him.
From on high he sent fire gives the picture of fire coming down from heaven, or “from above” (Good News Translation), perhaps as in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.24. It is the LORD who sent down the fire on Jerusalem. This may be taken as the literal fire which destroyed the city, or, in accordance with into my bones he made it descend, it may be taken figuratively as a fever burning the very bones of Jerusalem. Translators will notice that the versions differ in their interpretation of this half-line. The Hebrew text has “From on high he sent fire into my bones. He is the master of it.” The Septuagint translates “From on high he has sent fire; he has brought it into my bones.” The Hebrew word translated descend is understood by some as causative, and so Revised Standard Version has he made it descend, and the Septuagint “He has brought it.” It is also possible that this word is based on the verb meaning “to tread upon,” which is found in Joel 3.13, where Good News Translation translates it as “crush them as grapes are crushed.” So here the meaning can be “God sent down fire and trampled it into my bones,” that is, the bones of Jerusalem.
Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives a “B” rating to the Hebrew and recommends “in my bones, and it masters them,” that is, the fire masters the bones. This is far from clear in English, but it appears to be an attempt to say “the fire subdued the bones of Jerusalem.”
Because the understanding of figurative language is such a problem in translation, the Handbook suggests “a fire that burned inside me,” “a fire that burned up my bones,” or “… destroyed my bones.” Some translators may prefer to express the thought in a simile and retain the idea of fever; for example, “God sent down a fire that burned in me like a hot fever” or “God burned me with a fever that was as hot as fire.”
He spread a net for my feet: nets were used in biblical times to catch birds, animals, and fish. The word used here is also used to describe the action of the psalmist’s enemies in Psalm 57.6. See also Job 18.8; Proverbs 1.17.
In translation, as seen in Good News Translation “trap,” it is necessary to use the word for a device that can be applied to the catching of people. In languages where such things as nets, snares, pitfalls, and traps are unknown, the translator may say, for example, “He has caused me to fall,” “He has caught me like an animal is caught,” or “He has tripped my feet and caught me.”
He turned me back refers to God’s action of preventing the walker from going any further. He is unable to go forward and to reach his destination, because God refuses to let him pass. The result of spreading the net and preventing him from going any further leaves the speaker stunned, which translates the same verb rendered “desolate” in verse 4. Good News Translation is better with “he abandoned me.”
Faint all the day long is an expression which is parallel to stunned, and it concludes the verse without a verb. Faint translates a word meaning “sick, miserable.” Jerusalem complains that God has left her desolate and sick. All the day long means all the time, constantly. This unit may be translated, for example, “God has abandoned me, and I am always in pain.”
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 .