Lamentations 5:5 (YLT)

Passage

For our neck we have been pursued, We have laboured--there hath been no rest for us.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:3 Orphans we have been--without a father, our mothers <FI>are<Fi> as widows.

Lamentations 5:4 Our water for money we have drunk, Our wood for a price doth come.

Lamentations 5:5 For our neck we have been pursued, We have laboured--there hath been no rest for us.

Lamentations 5:6 <FI> To<Fi> Egypt we have given a hand, <FI>To<Fi> Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.

Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers have sinned--they are not, We their iniquities have borne.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "neck", "been", "pursued", "laboured--there", "hath", and "rest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "neck" and "been", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Our water for money we have drunk..." into verse 6's "FI To Fi Egypt we have given...", so "neck" and "been" 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 "neck" and "been" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.