Lamentations 5:7 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:5 We were dragged by the necks, we were weary and no rest was given us.

Lamentations 5:6 We have given our hand to Egypt, and to the Assyrians, that we might be satisfied with bread.

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

Lamentations 5:8 Servants have ruled over us: there was none to redeem us out of their hand.

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

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 our hand to Egypt..." into verse 8's "Servants have ruled over us there was...", 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.