Lamentations 5:2
What does Lamentations 5:2 mean?
A plain-English look at Lamentations 5:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Lamentations 5:2 means
They confess that the land God allotted to them has passed into the hands of “strangers” and “aliens.” The covenant inheritance, once a sign of God’s favor and Israel’s identity, is now confiscated or occupied. This is more than lost property; it signals broken security, severed heritage, and the tearing of family lines from their ancestral place. The verse voices the shock of displacement and the sorrow of watching promises tied to the land appear trampled. The grief is honest: what once testified to God’s blessing now witnesses to their chastening. They bring this loss to Jehovah because only He can reverse such a complete reversal.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, Our houses unto aliens.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, Our houses unto aliens.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Our heritage is given up to men of strange lands, our houses to those who are not our countrymen.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Our inheritance hath been turned to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Our inheritance is turned to aliens: our houses to strangers.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
Context
Following the call for God to “see,” the prayer names its first wound: the inheritance is gone. This fits the historical aftermath of conquest and exile. The following lines will move from national loss to household vulnerability, showing how the catastrophe has penetrated every layer of life—from land, to family, to daily bread. By tracing the spiral downward, the chapter builds a comprehensive picture of need before turning to hope near the end.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 7:24
Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned.
- Jeremiah 6:12
And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
- Zephaniah 1:13
And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof.
- Deuteronomy 28:30
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof.
- Psalms 79:1
O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
- Isaiah 63:18
Thy holy people possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
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