Lamentations 5:6 (DBY)

Passage

We have given the hand to Egypt, [and] to Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:4 Our water have we to drink for money, our wood cometh unto us for a price.

Lamentations 5:5 Our pursuers are on our necks: we are weary, we have no rest.

Lamentations 5:6 We have given the hand to Egypt, [and] to Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.

Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers have sinned, [and] they are not; and we bear their iniquities.

Lamentations 5:8 Bondmen rule over us: there is no deliverer out of their hand.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "given", "hand", "egypt", "asshur", "satisfied", and "bread". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "given" and "hand", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Our pursuers are on our necks we..." into verse 7's "Our fathers have sinned and they are...", so "given" and "hand" 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 "given" and "hand" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.