Lamentations 5:7 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

Lamentations 5:9 We have to get our bread at the risk of our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iniquities", "fathers", "sinned", and "bear". 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 Egypt..." into verse 8's "Bondmen rule over us there is no...", 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.