Lamentations 5:6
in Lamentations 5We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
We have given the hand to the Egyptians, And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
KJV
We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
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This verse in Lamentations 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWe have given our hand to the Egyptians,.... Either by way of supplication, to beg bread of them; or by way of covenant and agreement; or to testify subjection to them, in order to be supplied with food: many of the Jews went into Egypt upon the taking of the city, Jer 43:5; and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread; among whom many of the captives were dispersed; since from hence they are said to be returned, as well as from Egypt, Isa 11:16.
This site's exposition
We are closely pursued
on Lamentations 5:5-6
In the Hebrew of verse 5 the pursuers are on the people's necks: “We are closely pursued; we are weary and find no rest”. Verse 6 names the diplomacy that failed, “We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread”, as Jeremiah 2:18 names the same two powers.
This site's exposition
submitted to Egypt and Assyria
Albert Barnes reads the verse as hunger outweighing every other loyalty: Judah submitted to Egypt or to Assyria for enough bread. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take Assyria as the Babylonian power that held its old empire. Jeremiah 2:36 had warned that both would fail.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now, the people's slavery is personal and voluntary, because impelled by no means, people sell themselves to others in slavery. Or, at least for a time, as Verse 6 states: "We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to get bread enough." That …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We - The ten tribes were all carried captives into Assyria, and many of the kingdom of Judah fled into Egypt. Giving the hand may signify labouring for them: or, yielding up themselves to their power.
17 ), for it was a fruitful land; but now it eats up the inhabitants, and they are glad to make court to the Egyptians and Assyrians. (2.) Others of them ventured their lives for it (
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The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
given . . . hand to--in token of submission (see on Jer 50:15). to . . . Egyptians--at the death of Josiah (2Ch 36:3, 4). Assyrians--that is, the Chaldeans who occupied the empire which Assyria had held.
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We have given the hand to the Egyptians - We have sought alliances both with the Egyptians and Assyrians, and made covenants with them in order to get the necessaries of life. Or, wherever we are now driven, we are obliged to submit to the people of the countries in order to the preservation of our lives.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
“To give the hand” means to submit oneself. Absolutely it was Babylon that had just destroyed their national existence, but Jeremiah means that all feelings of patriotism were crushed, and the sole care that remained was the desire for personal preservation. To secure this the people would readily have submitted to the yoke either of Egypt or Assyria, the great powers from which in their past history they had so often suffered.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | |
| נָתַ֣נּוּ | natanu | we have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יָ֔ד | yad | a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אַשּׁ֖וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | |
| לִשְׂבֹּ֥עַֽ | lisboa' | to be satisfied | H7646 → | 97 times |
| לָֽחֶם׃ | lachem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →
נָתַ֣נּוּwe have given
natanuH5414 →2011 times
יָ֔דa hand
yadH3027 →1618 times
אַשּׁ֖וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →
לִשְׂבֹּ֥עַֽto be satisfied
lisboa'H7646 →97 times
לָֽחֶם׃bread
lachemH3899 →298 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 7:11So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
it leads to
- Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 12:1
Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 5:13
Through
Hosea 9:3They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:13
Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
- Hosea 8:13
Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
- Leviticus 25:23
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
- Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land, and made My inheritance detestable.
- Ezekiel 4:13
Through
Genesis 24:2So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
it leads to
- Genesis 47:29
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise…
- Genesis 39:4–6
Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.
- Genesis 47:29
Where this verse is studied
About Lamentations
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.