Lamentations 5:14 (WEB)

Passage

The elders have ceased from the gate, and the young men from their music.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:12 Princes were hanged up by their hands. The faces of elders were not honored.

Lamentations 5:13 The young men carry millstones. The children stumbled under loads of wood.

Lamentations 5:14 The elders have ceased from the gate, and the young men from their music.

Lamentations 5:15 The joy of our heart has ceased. Our dance is turned into mourning.

Lamentations 5:16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elders", "ceased", "gate", "young", and "music". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elders" and "ceased", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "The young men carry millstones The children..." into verse 15's "The joy of our heart has ceased...", so "elders" 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 "elders" and "ceased" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.