Lamentations 5:12 Meaning and Explanation

'Princes are hanged up by their hand.' The leaders of the nation, the princes who held its highest offices, have been executed by the conquerors, hung up in death and shame. Those who once ruled are killed with contempt. The destruction of the leadership leaves the people without their visible heads.

'The faces of elders were not honoured.' The elders, who in their society commanded the deepest respect, are treated with no honor at all. The reverence due to age and wisdom has been trampled. The whole structure of dignity and order has been overturned by the conquerors, who respect neither rank nor age. The verse mourns the collapse of every form of honor that once held the community together, leaving the people stripped of both their rulers and their respected fathers.