Lamentations 5:4 (LSB)

Passage

We drink our water by means of silver; Our wood comes to us at a price.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.

Lamentations 5:3 We have become orphans without a father; Our mothers are like widows.

Lamentations 5:4 We drink our water by means of silver; Our wood comes to us at a price.

Lamentations 5:5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out; there is no rest for us.

Lamentations 5:6 We have given over our hands to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "drink", "water", "means", "silver", "wood", "comes", and "price". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "drink" and "water", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "We have become orphans without a father..." into verse 5's "Our pursuers are at our necks We...", so "drink" and "water" 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 "drink" and "water" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.