Lamentations 5:15 (DRB)

Passage

The joy of our heart is ceased, our dancing is turned into mourning.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:13 They abused the young men indecently: and the children fell under the wood.

Lamentations 5:14 The ancients have ceased from the gates: the young men from the choir of the singers.

Lamentations 5:15 The joy of our heart is ceased, our dancing is turned into mourning.

Lamentations 5:16 The crown is fallen from our head: woe to us, because we have sinned.

Lamentations 5:17 Therefore is our heart sorrowful, therefore are our eyes become dim.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heart", "ceased", "dancing", "turned", and "mourning". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heart" and "ceased", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "The ancients have ceased from the gates..." into verse 16's "The crown is fallen from our head...", so "heart" and "ceased" 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 "heart" and "ceased" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.