Lamentations 5:11 (DRB)

Passage

They oppressed the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Juda.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:9 We fetched our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the desert.

Lamentations 5:10 Our skin was burnt as an oven, by reason of the violence of the famine.

Lamentations 5:11 They oppressed the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Juda.

Lamentations 5:12 The princes were hanged up by their hand: they did not respect the persons of the ancients.

Lamentations 5:13 They abused the young men indecently: and the children fell under the wood.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "oppressed", "women", "sion", "virgins", "cities", and "juda". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "oppressed" and "women", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Our skin was burnt as an oven..." into verse 12's "The princes were hanged up by their...", so "oppressed" and "women" 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 "oppressed" and "women" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.