Lamentations 5:16 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

Lamentations 5:18 For mount Sion, because it is destroyed, foxes have walked upon it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "crown", "fallen", "head", and "sinned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "crown" and "fallen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "The joy of our heart is ceased..." into verse 17's "Therefore is our heart sorrowful therefore are...", so "crown" and "fallen" 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 "crown" and "fallen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.