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Lamentations 5:9

Old Testament Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Lamentations 5:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
Lamentations 5:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Lamentations 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6We have given the hand to the Egyptians, And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.
8Servants rule over us: There is none to deliver us out of their hand.
9We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
10Our skin is black like an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine.
11They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.
12Princes were hanged up by their hand: The faces of elders were not honored.
← Lamentations 5:8Lamentations 5:10 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“We gat our bread [with the peril of] our lives, etc.] This seems to refer to the time of the siege when they privately went out of the city to get in some provision, but went in danger of their lives: because of the sword of the wilderness: or, “of the plain” f139; because of the, word of the Chaldean army, which lay in the plain about Jerusalem into whose hand there was danger of falling, and of being cut to pieces.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“We gat our bread with . . . peril--that is, those of us left in the city after its capture by the Chaldeans. because of . . . sword of . . . wilderness--because of the liability to attack by the robber Arabs of the wilderness, through which the Jews had to pass to get "bread" from Egypt (compare Lam 5:6).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“We gat - Or, We get “our bread at the peril of our lives.” This verse apparently refers to those who were left in the land, and who in gathering in such fruits as remained, were exposed to incursions of the Bedouin, here called “the sword of the desert.” return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The sword - The enemies lay encamped in all the plains, so that they could stir out no way but the sword of the Chaldeans was upon them. Lamentations 5:13”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Jdg 6:11; Sa2 23:17; Jer 40:9-12, Jer 41:1-10, Jer 41:18, Jer 42:14, Jer 42:16; Eze 4:16, Eze 4:17, Eze 12:18, Eze 12:19 Lamentations 5:10”
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Related study paths

Read Lamentations 5 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification