There is a resemblance between Lamentations 3:46 and Lamentations 2:16. The wide opening of the enemies’ mouths is an expression of their pleasure derived from Israel’s misfortune. The difference is that in the previous verse (Lamentations 2:16) it was against the personified daughter, Jerusalem, while in Lamentations 3:36 those who are exposed to mockery are the writer and the people he is representing (Mackay, page 160). Another difference is that the text in Lamentations 2:16 was directed against Jerusalem while the latter is a prayer to God. The writer links his prayer to the earlier passage, because the enemies and their actions are similar in both texts.1
46 “All our enemies open their mouths against us;