Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Lamentations 5:16
The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
16. The crown is fallen from our head ] Our honour is brought to the dust.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Literally, The crown of our head is fallen, i. e. what was our chief ornament and dignity is lost; the independence of the nation, and all that gave them rank and honor.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. The crown is fallen from our head] At feasts, marriages, c., they used to crown themselves with garlands of flowers all festivity of this kind was now at an end. Or it may refer to their having lost all sovereignty, being made slaves.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Or, The crown of our head is fallen, by which is not only to be understood the cessation of their kingdom, but all their honour, splendour, and dignity (crown being taken in a metaphorical notion).
Woe unto us, that we have sinned! we must thank ourselves for all this, this woe is come upon us because of our sins
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. The crownall our glory,the kingdom and the priesthood (Job 19:9;Psa 89:39; Psa 89:44).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The crown is fallen [from] our head,…. Or, “the crown of our head is fallen” a; all their honour and glory as a nation were gone; the glory of their kingdom and priesthood, to both which a crown or mitre belonged; the glory of church and state. Aben Ezra interprets it of the temple, the place of the divine Majesty. Sanctius thinks there is an allusion to the crowns they wore upon their heads at their feasts and festivals; and so the words have a close connection with what goes before:
woe unto us that we have sinned! which had brought all these evils upon them: this is not to be considered as an imprecation or denunciation of misery; but as a commiseration of their case; calling upon others to it, and particularly God himself, to have mercy upon them; for, alas for them! they had sinned, and justly deserved what was come upon them; and therefore throw themselves at the feet of mercy, and implore divine compassion.
a “cecidit corona capitis nostri”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
By the crown of the head he no doubt understands all those ornaments by which that people had been adorned. They had a kingdom and a priesthood, which were like two luminaries or two precious jewels; they had also other things by which the Lord had adorned them. As, then, they were endued with such excellent things, they are said to have borne a crown on their head But a crown was not only taken for a diadem, — it was also a symbol of joy and of honor; for not only kings then wore crowns, but men were crowned at weddings and feasts, at games also, and theatres. The Prophet, in a word, complains, that though many ornaments did belong to the people, yet now they were denuded of them all: The crown, he says, has fallen from our head (235)
He then exclaims, Woe to us now, for we have sinned! Here he sets forth an extreme misery, and at the same time shews that all hope of restoration was taken away. He, however, mentions the cause, because they had done wickedly By saying this he did not intend to exasperate their sorrow, so that they who were thus afflicted might murmur against God; but, on the contrary, his object was to humble the afflicted, so that they might perceive that they were justly punished. It is the same as though he had summoned them as guilty before the tribunal of God, and pronounced in one word that they justly suffered or sustained so grievous a punishment; for a just God is an avenger of wickedness.
We hence conclude, that when he said yesterday that the fathers who had sinned were dead, and their iniquity was borne by their children, he did not so speak as to exempt the living from all blame; for here he condemns them and includes himself in the number. But I explained yesterday the meaning of that verse; and here the Prophet ingenuously confesses that the people were justly punished, because they had by their sins provoked the wrath of God. And this doctrine ought to be carefully observed; because when we are pressed down by adversities, Satan will excite us to sorrow, and at the same time hurry us on to rage, except this doctrine comes to our minds, that we have to do with God, who is a righteous Judge. For the knowledge of our sins will tame our pride and also check all those clamorous complaints, which the unbelieving are wont to utter when they rise up against God. Our evils, then, ought to lead us to consider God’s judgment and to confess our sins; and this was the end which our Prophet had in view. It follows, —
(235) The words are, —
Fallen has the crown of our head.
Then the “woe” in the next line is only declarative, —
Woe is now to us, because we have sinned.
The particle “now” is omitted in our version. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
EXEGETICAL NOTES.
Lam. 5:16. Fallen is the crown from our head. That which was their honour has gonethe crown with which the Lord Jehovah had decked His chosen nation. I put a beautiful crown upon thine head and thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect through my majesty, which I had put upon thee (Eze. 16:12; Eze. 16:14). Now it is in the dust, set at nought by all those who had admired it. So, as if in irrepressible acknowledgment that they themselves were responsible for the dismal change, the exclamation bursts forth, Woe unto us! for we have sinnedsinned not against a ritual or a code of law, but against a living PersonMaker, Monarch, Father. This second clause is in correlation with Lam. 5:7, and expresses the share which their own iniquities had in the guilt which had drawn down such condign suffering as they were subjected to. Like their fathers, they had disowned truth and righteousness, and addicted themselves to false and unholy practices. This view of themselves, and confession of its evil nature, opens the eyes of the heart to look for the throne of grace.
HOMILETICS
THE LOSS OF HONOUR
(Lam. 5:16)
I. Honour is the crown of individual character. Honour is moral rectitude, the crown and dignity of the true man.
Say what is honour? Tis the finest sense
Of justice which the human mind can frame,
Intent each lurking frailty to disclaim,
And guard the way of life from all offence
Suffered or done.Wordsworth.
Moral rectitude is not a natural possession; it is the gift of Divine grace. It must be humbly and penitently sought, gratefully received, and strengthened and increased by incessant exercise. It is all of grace, and this grace sheds a glory and lustre upon the soul. As the diamond in the ring, so is grace to the soul. A heart beautified with grace has the picture of the King of heaven hung in it. It is dignified with the reflected splendour of the Divine majesty.
II. When honour is lost, man is discrowned. The crown is fallen from our head. Israel not only lost their national king, and with him their national independence, but they lost their moral kingship, their personal righteousness; and this they lost before they were deprived of their earthly king. All that had given them rank and honour was tumbled in the dust
Better to die ten thousand deaths
Than wound my honour.
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one;
Take honour from me, and my life is done.
III. Honour is lost when righteousness is abandoned. Woe unto us that we have sinned. Afflicted Judah is getting clearer light. In the seventh verse they still cling to the idea that their national calamities were to be ascribed to the sins of their ancestors. Now they see the enormity of their own sins, and acknowledge that they deserved chastisement Man is invulnerable to the assaults of the enemy and to the heaviest blows of misfortune and suffering while he retains his integrity. He is fenced round with the unconquerable protection of the God in whom he trusts. It is when he is untrue to himself, to his highest sense of honour, that he is untrue to God, and, falling away from righteousness, he becomes discrowned, and sinks into disgrace and misery.
LESSONS.
1. Righteousness confers dignity.
2. That man suffers unspeakable loss who does not act up to his holiest impulses.
3. When a man loses a sense of honour, he may sink to any depth of infamy.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Lam. 5:16. The degradation of sin:
1. Begins in personal unfaithfulness.
2. It is undignified to sin.
3. The course of sin ends in misery and in woe.
A series of woes. Woe unto us that we have sinned.
1. The first woe is the polluting of the soul by sin.
2. The second woe is Gods hatred and abhorrence.
3. The third woe is Gods leaving us.
4. The fourth woe is all kinds of punishmentan Iliad of evils.Bishop Ussher.
ILLUSTRATIONS.True dignity.
True dignity is never gained by place,
And never lost when honours are withdrawn.Massinger.
Ye proud, ye selfish, ye severe,
How vain your mask of state;
The good alone have joy sincere,
The good alone are great.Beattie.
Fallen greatness.
I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride
At length broke under me; and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye!
Wolsey.
Degradation. That which renders men so unwilling to believe themselves capable of union with God is but the sense of their own degradation. I would gladly be informed whence this creature, who acknowledges himself so weak, obtains the right to measure and limit the Divine mercy as his own fancy suggests. Man understands so little the nature of God that he understands not himself; and yet, troubled by the contemplation of his own condition, he boldly pronounces that it is beyond the power of God to qualify him for this connection.Pascal.
The agony of dishonour. The most terrible blow that General Grant ever knew was when the bank in which he was a partner had suspended payment. Not only was he ruined, his sons and daughters penniless by reason of all their savings invested in it being lost; but after a few days there came out a horrible story of craft and guile, and it was seen that his honoured name had been used to entice and decoy hosts of friends, to their own injury and Grants discredit Imputations were even cast on the fame that belonged to the country, and this blow was worst of all: the shock of battle was less tremendous; his physical agonies less acute.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(16) The crown is fallen.The phrase is naturally symbolic of degradation, and need not be restricted to the destruction of the Temple or the devastation of Jerusalem.
We have sinned!The confession of personal sinfulness produced by the contemplation of the miseries of the people contrasts, as has been already noticed, with the half-complaining tone of Lam. 5:7.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. The crown is fallen The grand summing up of all their disgrace and misery.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The crown is fallen from our head,
Woe to us! for we have sinned.
The crown is fallen from our head’ might be a reference to the fact that they no longer had a king ruling over them. But far more likely in mind was the festal garland crown often worn at feasts. Compare Isa 28:1 where it had become faded and was being grossly misused). It was a symbol of fruitfulness and joy. But there was no grounds for wearing such a crown in those difficult and oppressive times, for there was nothing to be joyful about. The people who had once gathered in festal joy now had no grounds for festivities. The crown of joy and fruitfulness lay discarded on the ground.
‘Woe to us, for we have sinned.’ And now after the long catalogue of miseries that they were enduring we come to the people’s admission as to why things were like this. It was because they had sinned. That was why these woes had come upon them. This was one of the most important lessons to come from the laments, an admission that their condition was due to their sins.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Lam 5:16. The crown is fallen from our head At their fears, at their marriages, and other seasons of festivity, they used to crown themselves with flowers. The prophet probably alludes to this custom, as we may gather from the preceding verses. The general meaning is, “All our glory is at an end, together with the advantages of being thy people, and enjoying thy presence, by which we were eminently distinguished from the rest of the world.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Lam 5:16 The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
Ver. 16. The crown is fallen from our head, ] i.e., All our glory, both of Church and State, because we refused to serve God, which indeed is to “reign in righteousness.” Now neither is all this, nor any of this, spoken to exasperate or exulcerate people’s hearts to fret against God, or to faint under their pressures, but to put them upon the practice of true humiliation, that so they may not lose the fruit of their afflictions, whence the following passage.
Woe unto us that we have sinned!
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The crown: Lam 1:1, Job 19:9, Psa 89:39, Jer 13:18, Eze 21:26, Rev 2:10, Rev 3:11
is fallen from our head: Heb. of our head is fallen
woe: Lam 1:8, Lam 1:18, Lam 2:1, Lam 4:13, Pro 14:34, Isa 3:9-11, Jer 2:17, Jer 2:19, Jer 4:18, Eze 7:17-22, Eze 22:12-16, 2Pe 2:4-6
Reciprocal: 2Sa 1:10 – crown 2Sa 1:19 – how are 2Sa 1:25 – How Job 10:2 – show me Psa 38:10 – the light Psa 102:10 – Because Isa 3:8 – Jerusalem Isa 59:9 – is judgment Jer 3:25 – lie down Jer 30:15 – for the Jer 32:23 – therefore Lam 3:42 – transgressed Eze 16:11 – and a Eze 28:15 – till iniquity Dan 9:8 – because Hos 7:13 – Woe Hos 14:1 – thou Mic 1:5 – the transgression of Jacob Zep 1:17 – because
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lam 5:16. This verse was true literally and figuratively. The king on the throne in Jerusalem was taken off to the land of Babylon. Also, the crown or glory of the nation had been removed by the humiliation of the exile.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
God’s blessing and authority, symbolized by a crown, had departed from the head of the nation. All these characteristics marked the nation because it had sinned against Yahweh. She suffered under His judgment.