Lamentations 5:9
New International Version
We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the desert.

New Living Translation
We hunt for food at the risk of our lives, for violence rules the countryside.

English Standard Version
We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.

Berean Standard Bible
We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.

King James Bible
We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

New King James Version
We get our bread at the risk of our lives, Because of the sword in the wilderness.

New American Standard Bible
We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.

NASB 1995
We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.

NASB 1977
We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.

Legacy Standard Bible
We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.

Amplified Bible
We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword [of the Arabs] in the wilderness [who may attack if we go out to harvest the crop].

Christian Standard Bible
We secure our food at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
We secure our food at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.

American Standard Version
We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.

Contemporary English Version
We are in danger from brutal desert tribes; we must risk our lives just to bring in our crops.

English Revised Version
We get our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
To get our food, we have to risk our lives in the heat of the desert.

Good News Translation
Murderers roam through the countryside; we risk our lives when we look for food.

International Standard Version
We risk our lives to obtain our food, facing death in the desert.

Majority Standard Bible
We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.

NET Bible
At the risk of our lives we get our food because robbers lurk in the countryside.

New Heart English Bible
We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.

Webster's Bible Translation
We procured our bread with the peril of our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness.

World English Bible
We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
With our lives we bring in our bread, "" Because of the sword of the wilderness.

Young's Literal Translation
With our lives we bring in our bread, Because of the sword of the wilderness.

Smith's Literal Translation
With our souls we shall bring our bread from the face of the sword of the desert.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
We fetched our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the desert.

Catholic Public Domain Version
We obtained our bread at the risk of our lives, before the face of the sword, in the wilderness.

New American Bible
We risk our lives just to get bread, exposed to the desert heat;

New Revised Standard Version
We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
We get our bread with the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Into our soul we will put bread in the presence of the sword in the wilderness
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
We get our bread with the peril of our lives Because of the sword of the wilderness.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
We shall bring in our bread with danger of our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Prayer for Restoration
8Slaves rule over us; there is no one to deliver us from their hands. 9We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness. 10Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger.…

Cross References
Nehemiah 5:3
Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

Jeremiah 14:18
If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

Jeremiah 42:14
and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’

Jeremiah 44:12-13
And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach. / I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,

Ezekiel 4:16-17
Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure. / So they will lack food and water; they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.

Ezekiel 5:16-17
When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food. / I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,

Isaiah 5:13
Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.

Isaiah 51:19
These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you?

Deuteronomy 28:48
you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

Deuteronomy 28:33
A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.

Judges 6:3-4
Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them, / encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys.

2 Kings 25:3
By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

Matthew 24:7
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Mark 13:8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.


Treasury of Scripture

We got our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

Judges 6:11
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

2 Samuel 23:17
And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

Jeremiah 40:9-12
And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you…

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Lamentations 5
1. A complaint of Zion in prayer unto God.














We get our bread
This phrase highlights the basic human need for sustenance and the struggle to obtain it. In the Hebrew context, "bread" (לֶחֶם, lechem) often symbolizes not just physical nourishment but also spiritual sustenance. The Israelites' dependence on God for daily provision is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, as seen in the manna provided during the Exodus (Exodus 16). Here, the struggle to obtain bread underscores the dire circumstances faced by the people of Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege, reflecting a broader spiritual desolation and a cry for divine intervention.

at the risk of our lives
This phrase conveys the extreme danger and peril involved in performing even the most basic tasks. The Hebrew word for "risk" (בְּנַפְשֵׁנוּ, benafshenu) can be translated as "with our lives," indicating that the act of securing food is life-threatening. This reflects the historical context of the Babylonian siege, where venturing outside the city walls could result in death. It serves as a poignant reminder of the vulnerability and fragility of human life, emphasizing the need for reliance on God's protection and provision.

because of the sword
The "sword" (חֶרֶב, cherev) is a symbol of violence, war, and destruction. In the context of Lamentations, it represents the Babylonian military threat that loomed over Jerusalem. The sword is a recurring biblical motif for divine judgment, as seen in passages like Ezekiel 21:3-5. Here, it underscores the consequences of the nation's disobedience and the severity of God's judgment, while also pointing to the hope of eventual restoration and peace through repentance and faithfulness.

in the wilderness
The "wilderness" (בַּמִּדְבָּר, bamidbar) evokes images of desolation, danger, and testing. Biblically, the wilderness is a place of both trial and divine encounter, as seen in the Israelites' 40-year journey in the desert (Numbers 14:33-34). In Lamentations, it symbolizes the harsh conditions and isolation faced by the people. Yet, it also serves as a backdrop for potential renewal and transformation, reminding readers of God's past faithfulness and the possibility of future redemption through steadfast faith and obedience.

(9) The sword of the wilderness.--Another element of suffering is hinted at. Those who were left in the land were attacked, as they gathered in their scanty harvest, by the nomad tribes of the wilderness. Amalekites, Midianites, and others. (Comp. Jeremiah 40:14.)

Verse 9. - We gat our bread; rather, we get our bread. The allusion in the following words is perhaps to murderous attacks of Bedawins (as we should call the Ishmaelites) on the Jews who attempted to gather in the scanty harvest.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
We get
נָבִ֣יא (nā·ḇî)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

our bread
לַחְמֵ֔נוּ (laḥ·mê·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 3899: Food, bread, grain

at the risk of our lives
בְּנַפְשֵׁ֙נוּ֙ (bə·nap̄·šê·nū)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

because of
מִפְּנֵ֖י (mip·pə·nê)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the sword
חֶ֥רֶב (ḥe·reḇ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

in the wilderness.
הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃ (ham·miḏ·bār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4057: A pasture, a desert, speech


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OT Prophets: Lamentations 5:9 We get our bread at the peril (Lam. La Lm)
Lamentations 5:8
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