Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Lamentations 4:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse attributes the group's scattering to the LORD and notes lost regard for priests and elders.
Because of the blood of the righteous
This verse is one part of that explanation in Lamentations 4:13-16. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Lamentations 4:13-16
Read Lamentations 4:16 with 4:13-16. This verse attributes the group's scattering to the LORD and notes lost regard for priests and elders. The complete unit establishes this movement: Prophets and priests are charged with shedding righteous blood; polluted by violence, they wander, are told to depart, find no place among nations, and lose the respect attached to religious and elder status.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The poem follows astonishing breach with a leadership cause, then turns from internal failure to failed foreign help. Within that movement, this verse attributes the group's scattering to the LORD and notes lost regard for priests and elders.
Follow the Context
- Prophets' sins and priests' iniquities are linked to righteous blood shed in the city.
- The guilty wander like blind people and bear blood pollution.
- Others cry 'depart' and refuse contact or settlement.
- The LORD scatters them, and offices no longer command regard.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“The anger of the LORD hath divided them”
In plain language: This verse attributes the group's scattering to the LORD and notes lost regard for priests and elders.
Status does not guarantee continued honor after grave failure.
Why it matters: The wording carries textual, theological, ethical, or pastoral risk requiring its complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not justify collective contempt, elder abuse, or denial of due process because leaders failed.
What Remains True
Status does not guarantee continued honor after grave failure.
How It Can Shape Life
- Remove unsafe authority without dehumanizing whole classes.
Teach It Back
Explain how Lamentations 4:16 contributes to Lamentations 4:13-16. Include the surrounding alphabet stanza, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Lamentations 4:13-16 — Leadership Bloodguilt, Pollution, and ExpulsionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The exact antecedents and who withheld honor are debated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and canonical verse coverage.
Exact location: Lamentations 4:13-16, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Lamentations
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, alphabet sequence, person and number, repeated vocabulary, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lam.xml, OSIS Lam.4.13-Lam.4.16
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Lamentations with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew, syntax, textual, acrostic, literary, historical, and translation notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Lamentations PDF, printed pp. 1571-1575, translation and notes on 4:13-16
Open source ↗