This verb in the Piel stem means 'to tear to pieces' or 'to rend violently,' appearing only in Lamentations 3:11. The speaker uses predator imagery to describe his suffering: 'He turned aside my ways and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate.' The verb follows the image of God as a lion or bear lurking to attack (verse 10). The tearing language is visceral and violent—not merely attacking but ripping apart. This fits Lamentations' brutal honesty about suffering, where the poet doesn't soften divine involvement but directly attributes catastrophe to God's action, even while maintaining faith that God's compassions never fail.