Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Lamentations 5:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse joins a fallen communal crown to the confession 'woe unto us, that we have sinned.'
Read It With
- Lamentations 5:14-16
Read Lamentations 5:16 with 5:14-16. This verse joins a fallen communal crown to the confession 'woe unto us, that we have sinned.' The complete unit establishes this movement: Civic deliberation, music, joy, dance, and communal honor disappear; the people lament a fallen crown and confess, 'woe unto us, that we have sinned,' without erasing the violations just named.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The poem moves from coercive bodily harm to the silencing of social life and a confession whose scope is corporate rather than victim-specific. Within that movement, this verse joins a fallen communal crown to the confession 'woe unto us, that we have sinned.'
Follow the Context
- Elders disappear from the public gate.
- Young men's music ceases.
- Joy and dance turn to mourning.
- The fallen crown leads to communal woe and confession.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“The crown is fallen from our head”
In plain language: This verse joins a fallen communal crown to the confession 'woe unto us, that we have sinned.'
Corporate confession must preserve distinctions among leaders, bystanders, perpetrators, and victims.
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 transfer blame to raped women, starving children, forced laborers, or other sufferers.
What Remains True
Corporate confession must preserve distinctions among leaders, bystanders, perpetrators, and victims.
How It Can Shape Life
- Name verified communal wrongs and protect those harmed.
Teach It Back
Explain how Lamentations 5:16 contributes to Lamentations 5:14-16. Include the surrounding alphabet stanza, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Lamentations 5:14-16 — Gate, Music, Joy, and Crown VanishSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The crown may signify honor, rule, identity, or overlapping losses.
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 5:14-16, 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.5.14-Lam.5.16
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. 1575-1577, translation and notes on 5:14-16
Open source ↗