Lamentations 5:7 (YLT)

Passage

Our fathers have sinned--they are not, We their iniquities have borne.

Nearby Context

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.

Lamentations 5:8 Servants have ruled over us, A deliverer there is none from their hand.

Lamentations 5:9 With our lives we bring in our bread, Because of the sword of the wilderness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iniquities", "fathers", "sinned--they", 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 "FI To Fi Egypt we have given..." into verse 8's "Servants have ruled over us A deliverer...", 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.