Lamentations 5:20 (ASV)

Passage

Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [And] forsake us so long time?

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:18 For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it.

Lamentations 5:19 Thou, O Jehovah, abidest for ever; Thy throne is from generation to generation.

Lamentations 5:20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [And] forsake us so long time?

Lamentations 5:21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Jehovah, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.

Lamentations 5:22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; Thou art very wroth against us.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wherefore", "dost", "thou", "forget", "ever", "forsake", "long", and "time". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wherefore" and "dost", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Thou O Jehovah abidest for ever Thy..." into verse 21's "Turn thou us unto thee O Jehovah...", so "wherefore" and "dost" belong inside that flow. In Lamentations context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "wherefore" and "dost" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.