Lamentations 5:18 (ASV)

Passage

For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:16 The crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto us! for we have sinned.

Lamentations 5:17 For this our heart is faint; For these things our eyes are dim;

Lamentations 5:18 For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it.

Lamentations 5:19 Thou, O Jehovah, abidest for ever; Thy throne is from generation to generation.

Lamentations 5:20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [And] forsake us so long time?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mountain", "zion", "desolate", "foxes", "walk", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mountain" and "zion", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "For this our heart is faint For..." into verse 19's "Thou O Jehovah abidest for ever Thy...", so "mountain" and "zion" belong inside that flow. In Lamentations context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mountain" and "zion" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.