Lamentations 5:7 (ASV)

Passage

Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:5 Our pursuers are upon our necks: We are weary, and have no rest.

Lamentations 5:6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.

Lamentations 5:8 Servants rule over us: There is none to deliver us out of their hand.

Lamentations 5:9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iniquities", "fathers", "sinned", and "borne". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "iniquities" and "fathers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "We have given the hand to the..." into verse 8's "Servants rule over us There is none...", so "iniquities" and "fathers" 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 "iniquities" and "fathers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.