From the picture of the hunted bird in verse 52, the poet now turns to the image of an animal that falls into a pit. He is probably not so much emphasizing the idea that he was alive when he fell into the pit, as that the intention of his enemies was to bring his life to an end. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy expresses this well with “They buried me alive in a well.”

They … cast stones on me depicts the enemies throwing down stones on the trapped victim. However, since the word stones is singular in Hebrew, many understand the expression to refer to covering the opening of the pit or well with a large stone to prevent his escape. For example, New English Bible says “They closed it over me with a stone.” Since either translation is acceptable, translators may wish to give the alternate rendering in a footnote, as Bible en français courant does.

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 .