Bible Strands
Lamentations 5:2
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker, representing the remnant of Judah, addresses God directly in the immediate aftermath of Jerusalem's destruction. The words — The text states that inherited land and domestic property were forcibly transferred to outsiders. The Hebrew נֶהֶפְכָה (ne.hef.Khah) denotes a complete reversal or turning over, describing how their נַחֲלָתֵנוּ (na.cha.la.Te.nu) inheritance and בָּתֵּינוּ (ba.Tei.nu) houses were given to זָרִים (za.Rim) strangers and נָכְרִים (na.khe.Rim) foreigners. The thread — This pattern of displaced inheritance and confiscated homes recurs in Isaiah 1:7, Zephaniah 1:13, and Deuteronomy 28:30 as markers of covenant judgment. Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that national collapse begins with the loss of God-given land and security. It forces the reader to confront the concrete reality of divine judgment without spiritualizing the loss.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:7 Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.
- Zephaniah 1:13 Their wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.
- Deuteronomy 28:30 You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.
- Psalms 79:1 A Psalm of Asaph. The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
- Isaiah 5:17 Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.
- Isaiah 63:18 For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place, but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary.
- Jeremiah 6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others, their fields and wives as well, for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 7:21 And I will hand these things over as plunder to foreigners and loot to the wicked of the earth, who will defile them.
- Ezekiel 7:24 So I will bring the most wicked of nations to take possession of their houses. I will end the pride of the mighty, and their holy places will be profaned.