Lamentations 5:12 (YLT)

Passage

Princes by their hand have been hanged, The faces of elders have not been honoured.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 5:10 Our skin as an oven hath been burning, Because of the raging of the famine.

Lamentations 5:11 Wives in Zion they have humbled, Virgins--in cities of Judah.

Lamentations 5:12 Princes by their hand have been hanged, The faces of elders have not been honoured.

Lamentations 5:13 Young men to grind they have taken, And youths with wood have stumbled.

Lamentations 5:14 The aged from the gate have ceased, Young men from their song.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "princes", "hand", "been", "hanged", "faces", "elders", and "honoured". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "princes" and "hand", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Wives in Zion they have humbled Virgins--in..." into verse 13's "Young men to grind they have taken...", so "princes" and "hand" 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 "princes" and "hand" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.