Taken up my cause is literally “the cause (or, case) of my soul.” The legal language in this verse is well represented in translations such as Bible en français courant “Lord, you have pleaded in my favor,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “Lord, you plead my defense in a trial.” In other words, the sufferer thanks the Lord for being his advocate in a legal dispute in which his life was in danger. In some languages it is possible to retain the law-court image suggested in the original. It appears here that the poet is appealing to God to serve as his defense as well as his judge. This is because he is sure he has done no wrong. If legal language is not used to translate this passage, the translator may use more general terms and say, for example, “You have defended me in my fight, Lord,” or as a command, “Defend me in my struggle, Lord.”

Redeemed my life or “saved my life” may sometimes require some modification, since in some languages it is not the life but the person bearing the life that is saved; for example, “you saved me,” “you rescued me,” or idiomatically, “you handed me back my breath.”

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 .