Lamentations 5:7
Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
The complaint reflects genuine suffering: the exile generation experienced consequences of sins committed under Manasseh (687-642 BC), who reigned 55 years in severe apostasy (2 Kings 21:1-16). 2 Kings 23:26-27 states that despite Josiah's reforms, "the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath...because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal." So people living in 586 BC faced judgment for Manasseh's sins decades earlier. Yet they weren't innocent: Jeremiah 7:9-10 catalogs their current sins. Ezekiel 18's point is that each generation must own its response to God. Daniel's prayer (Daniel 9:4-19) models the proper approach: he identifies with previous generations' sins while confessing the current generation's guilt. He doesn't say 'They sinned, we're innocent' but 'We have sinned' (9:5, 8, 11, 15). True repentance acknowledges both inherited consequences and personal guilt.
Questions for Reflection
- How do we balance acknowledging generational consequences of sin with accepting personal responsibility for our own choices?
- What inherited consequences (family patterns, cultural sins, historical injustices) affect us, and how should we respond?
- How does Christ break the cycle of generational sin and its consequences for believers (Galatians 3:13-14, Colossians 1:13-14)?
Analysis & Commentary
A troubling complaint: "Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities" (avoteinu khatu einam anakhnu avonoteihem savalnu, אֲבֹתֵינוּ חָטְאוּ אֵינָם אֲנַחְנוּ עֲוֺנֹתֵיהֶם סָבָלְנוּ). This became a popular proverb, quoted in Ezekiel 18:2: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." The complaint suggests injustice—we're suffering for previous generations' sins. Ezekiel 18 refutes this, emphasizing individual responsibility: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (18:4, 20). Jeremiah 31:29-30 similarly promises that in the new covenant, people die for their own sin, not others'. Yet there's truth to generational consequences: Exodus 20:5 warns God "visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." How to reconcile? Corporate solidarity is real—children do suffer consequences of parental sin (alcoholism, poverty, broken families, bad theology). But this doesn't excuse individual sin. The exile generation wasn't innocent; they persisted in their fathers' sins (Jeremiah 7:25-26).