King James Version
Lamentations 5
22 verses with commentary
A Prayer for Restoration
Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
View commentary
Chapter 5 is a communal prayer: "Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach" (zechor YHWH meh-hayah lanu habitah ure'eh et-kherpatenu, זְכֹר יְהוָה מֶה־הָיָה לָנוּ הַבִּיטָה וּרְאֵה אֶת־חֶרְפָּתֵנוּ). The verb zakhar (זָכַר, "remember") is crucial. It's not that God forgets—His memory is perfect. But biblical "remembering" means acting on relationship. When God "remembered Noah" (Genesis 8:1), the flood waters receded. When He "remembered His covenant" (Exodus 2:24), deliverance began. Here, the plea is for God to act based on remembering His people. The dual verbs "consider" (habitah, הַבִּיטָה, "look attentively") and "behold" (re'eh, רְאֵה, "see") request God's attention to their "reproach" (cherpah, חֶרְפָּה)—shame, disgrace. The people acknowledge their humiliated state and appeal to God's compassion. This models appropriate prayer after judgment: not demanding or presuming, but humbly requesting God notice and act. Psalm 74:18-22, 79:8-12, and 89:46-51 express similar appeals for God to remember and intervene.
Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
View commentary
Inheritance turned to strangers, houses to aliens. Loss of covenant land—ultimate curse. Leviticus 26:32-33.
We are orphans and fatherless , our mothers are as widows.
View commentary
Fatherless and widows—most vulnerable in society. War creates orphans/widows whom God commands we protect.
We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. is: Heb. cometh for price
View commentary
Paying for water and wood—basic necessities commodified. In own land, forced to buy what should be free.
Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. Our: Heb. On our necks are we persecuted
View commentary
Yoke on necks, persecuted, no rest. Slavery imagery. Egypt redux. Circular judgment.
We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
View commentary
Submitting to Egypt and Assyria for bread. Seeking help from former enemies. Desperate alliances.
Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
View 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).
Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.
View commentary
Slaves rule over us, none delivers. Ultimate indignity—ruled by those who should be servants.
We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
View commentary
Getting bread with peril of lives, swords in wilderness. Daily survival life-threatening. No security.
Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. terrible: or, terrors, or, storms
View commentary
Skin black like oven from famine. Malnutrition visible effects. Bodies showing souls distress.
They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
View commentary
Women ravished in Zion, maids in Judah cities. Sexual violence in conquest—ultimate violation and humiliation.
Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.
View commentary
The Degradation of Leaders
This verse depicts the horrific humiliation of Jerusalem's leadership following the Babylonian conquest. The phrase "princes are hanged up by their hand" (sarim be-yadam talu) describes public execution or display of bodies—a practice used by conquerors to demonstrate total subjugation. The Hebrew talah (תָּלָה, "to hang") often refers to corpses displayed after execution, serving as warnings against rebellion. The phrase "by their hand" may indicate hanging by the princes' own hands, or possibly that enemies did this "by their hand" (instrumentally).
The second half intensifies the tragedy: "the faces of elders were not honoured" (penei zeqenim lo nehdar). In Hebrew culture, elders (zeqenim) represented wisdom, authority, and communal memory. Honoring them was a cornerstone of societal stability (Leviticus 19:32). The verb hadar means "to honor, glorify, or show respect." Its negation indicates not merely lack of honor but active dishonor—public humiliation of those who deserved reverence.
Together, these images show complete social inversion: those who should rule are executed; those who should be honored are shamed. This represents the full unraveling of covenant society under divine judgment. When a nation rejects God's order, He removes the protection that preserves social hierarchies, leaving chaos in righteousness' place.
This verse depicts the horrific humiliation of Jerusalem's leadership following the Babylonian conquest. The phrase "princes are hanged up by their hand" (sarim be-yadam talu) describes public execution or display of bodies—a practice used by conquerors to demonstrate total subjugation. The Hebrew talah (תָּלָה, "to hang") often refers to corpses displayed after execution, serving as warnings against rebellion. The phrase "by their hand" may indicate hanging by the princes' own hands, or possibly that enemies did this "by their hand" (instrumentally).
The second half intensifies the tragedy: "the faces of elders were not honoured" (penei zeqenim lo nehdar). In Hebrew culture, elders (zeqenim) represented wisdom, authority, and communal memory. Honoring them was a cornerstone of societal stability (Leviticus 19:32). The verb hadar means "to honor, glorify, or show respect." Its negation indicates not merely lack of honor but active dishonor—public humiliation of those who deserved reverence.
Together, these images show complete social inversion: those who should rule are executed; those who should be honored are shamed. This represents the full unraveling of covenant society under divine judgment. When a nation rejects God's order, He removes the protection that preserves social hierarchies, leaving chaos in righteousness' place.
They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
View commentary
Young men bear millstones, children fall under wood. Forced labor of youth—stealing future.
The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.
View commentary
Elders cease from gate, young men from music. Normal social functions end—no justice, joy, or culture.
The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.
View commentary
The emotional toll: "The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning" (shavat mesos libeinu nehefakh le-evel mecholenu, שָׁבַת מְשׂוֹשׂ לִבֵּנוּ נֶהְפַּךְ לְאֵבֶל מְחֹלֵנוּ). The verb shavat (שָׁבַת, "ceased") is the same root as sabbath—rest from joy, silence of celebration. "Joy of our heart" (mesos libeinu) refers to inner gladness, not mere external merriment. Complete interior joy has vanished. "Dance is turned into mourning" (mechol...nehefakh le-evel) describes transformation: celebratory dancing at festivals and weddings becomes funeral lamentation. Ecclesiastes 3:4 acknowledges: "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." The exile was emphatically a time to mourn. Psalm 137:1-4 captures this: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept...How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?" The loss of joy represents not just emotional state but broken fellowship with God—the source of true joy (Psalm 16:11, 43:4, Philippians 4:4). When relationship with God is fractured by sin and judgment, joy inevitably departs.
The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! The: Heb. The crown of our head is fallen
View commentary
Personal responsibility acknowledged: "The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!" (naflah ateret roshenu oi-na lanu ki chatanu, נָפְלָה עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשֵׁנוּ אוֹי־נָא לָנוּ כִּי חָטָאנוּ). The "crown" (ateret, עֲטֶרֶת) symbolizes glory, honor, dignity—all that Israel possessed as God's chosen people. Its fall represents complete loss of status. Deuteronomy 28:13 promised: "the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail." But covenant breaking reversed this. The "woe unto us" (oi-na lanu, אוֹי־נָא לָנוּ) is a cry of anguish and self-reproach. Critically, the verse ends with confession: "that we have sinned" (ki chatanu, כִּי חָטָאנוּ). After complaining about fathers' sins (verse 7), the generation finally owns their guilt. This movement from blame-shifting to confession is essential for restoration. As long as people excuse themselves, repentance remains incomplete. When they acknowledge "we have sinned," the path to mercy opens (1 John 1:9, Proverbs 28:13).
For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.
View commentary
Heart is faint, eyes are dim. Physical manifestation of spiritual/emotional exhaustion. Comprehensive suffering.
Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
View commentary
Mount Zion desolate, foxes walk there. Wild animals inhabit holy mountain. Reversal of civilization.
Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
View commentary
Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever (אַתָּה יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם תֵּשֵׁב, atah YHWH le'olam teshev)—'Remainest' or 'sittest' (yashav) evokes God's enthronement—stable, unchanging, eternal. Thy throne from generation to generation (כִּסְאֲךָ לְדֹר וָדֹר, kis'akha ledor vador)—while earthly kingdoms rise and fall (including David's throne in Jerusalem), God's reign is trans-generational, perpetual. This affirmation stands in stark contrast to chapter 5's litany of national collapse (verses 1-18). Though Israel's kingdom has fallen, the kingdom of God endures. This verse anchors the book's concluding prayer (verses 20-22) in God's unchanging nature.
Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? so: Heb. for length of days?
View commentary
A painful question: "Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever? why dost thou forsake us so long time?" (lamah la-netsakh tishkachenu ta'azvenu le-orekh yamim, לָמָּה לָנֶצַח תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ תַּעַזְבֵנוּ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים). The phrase "for ever" (la-netsakh, לָנֶצַח) doesn't necessarily mean eternal duration but indefinite, seemingly endless time. "Long time" (le-orekh yamim, לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים) literally means "for length of days"—implying protracted suffering. This isn't accusation but anguished questioning—wrestling with God's timing. Psalm 13:1 echoes: "How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever?" These questions arise from faith, not unbelief. Unbelief walks away; faith clings and cries out. The complaint honors God by taking Him seriously, treating Him as covenant partner who can be appealed to. The question implicitly affirms: You are able to help; please do so. The silence or delay feels like forgetting and forsaking, though verse 19 affirms God's eternal throne. The tension between God's unchanging sovereignty and experienced suffering is real and Scripture validates wrestling with it.
Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
View commentary
Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned (הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה, hashivenu YHWH elekha venashuvah)—The plea for God to 'turn us' before we can 'be turned' acknowledges human inability to repent apart from divine initiative. This is proto-Augustinian theology: conversion requires God's prevenient grace. The wordplay on 'shuv' (turn/return) emphasizes that repentance is both divine gift and human responsibility—a mystery. Renew our days as of old (חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם, chadesh yameinu keqedem)—'as of old' recalls wilderness wanderings after Exodus, or perhaps David/Solomon's golden age. The prayer is for restoration to former covenant relationship, not merely former prosperity.
But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us. But: or, For wilt thou utterly reject us?
View commentary
The book's troubling conclusion: "But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us" (ki im-ma'os me'astanu katsafta aleinu ad-me'od, כִּי אִם־מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ קָצַפְתָּ עָלֵינוּ עַד־מְאֹד). The phrase ma'os me'astanu uses emphatic construction: "rejecting, you have rejected us"—complete repudiation. "Very wroth" (katsafta...ad-me'od, קָצַפְתָּ...עַד־מְאֹד) means extreme anger. This seems to contradict verse 19's affirmation of God's eternal throne and earlier hope (3:22-26). Why end on despair? Some traditions read verse 21 as the final verse, repeating it after 22 so the book doesn't end negatively. But the canonical ending serves important purposes: (1) It's honest—full restoration hasn't yet occurred; (2) It validates ongoing struggle with God's seeming distance; (3) It points beyond itself to the greater restoration only Messiah brings. The unresolved ending mirrors Israel's state: partial return from exile, but full covenant promises awaited fulfillment in Christ. The book teaches lament as ongoing spiritual discipline, not instantly resolved but held in tension with hope.