Lamentations 5:12
New International Version
Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.

New Living Translation
Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs, and our elders are treated with contempt.

English Standard Version
Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders.

Berean Standard Bible
Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect.

King James Bible
Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.

New King James Version
Princes were hung up by their hands, And elders were not respected.

New American Standard Bible
Leaders were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.

NASB 1995
Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.

NASB 1977
Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.

Legacy Standard Bible
Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.

Amplified Bible
Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.

Christian Standard Bible
Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Princes are hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.

American Standard Version
Princes were hanged up by their hand: The faces of elders were not honored.

Contemporary English Version
Our rulers are strung up by their arms, and our nation's advisors are treated shamefully.

English Revised Version
Princes were hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
[Our] leaders are hung by their hands. [Our] older leaders are shown no respect.

Good News Translation
Our leaders have been taken and hanged; our elders are shown no respect.

International Standard Version
Princes they have hung by their hands; elders they have disrespected.

Majority Standard Bible
Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect.

NET Bible
Princes were hung by their hands; elders were mistreated.

New Heart English Bible
Princes were hung by their hands; elders were shown no respect.

Webster's Bible Translation
Princes were hanged by their hand: the faces of elders were not honored.

World English Bible
Princes were hanged up by their hands. The faces of elders were not honored.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Princes have been hanged by their hand, "" Elderly faces have not been honored.

Young's Literal Translation
Princes by their hand have been hanged, The faces of elders have not been honoured.

Smith's Literal Translation
Chiefs were hung by their hand: the faces of old men were not honored.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The princes were hanged up by their hand: they did not respect the persons of the ancient.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The leaders were suspended by their hand. They were not ashamed before the faces of the elders.

New American Bible
Princes have been hanged by them, elders shown no respect.

New Revised Standard Version
Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Princes are hanged up by their hands; the faces of the elders are not honored.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Princes were hanged by their hands and they dishonored the persons of the Elders
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Princes are hanged up by their hand; The faces of elders are not honoured.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Princes were hanged up by their hands: the elders were not honoured.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Prayer for Restoration
11Women have been ravished in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. 12Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect. 13Young men toil at millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood.…

Cross References
Isaiah 3:14-15
The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. / Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

Jeremiah 52:10-11
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah. / Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon, where he kept him in custody until his dying day.

2 Kings 25:6-7
The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment on him. / And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

Ezekiel 19:1-4
“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel / and say: ‘What was your mother? A lioness among the lions! She lay down among the young lions; she reared her cubs. / She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men. ...

2 Chronicles 36:17
So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God gave them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,

Jeremiah 39:6-7
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah. / Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.

Psalm 137:8-9
O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us. / Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.

Amos 4:2-3
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. / You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the LORD.

Micah 3:1-3
Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice? / You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones. / You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”

Matthew 27:29-31
And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” / Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly. / After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.

Mark 15:17-20
They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. / And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” / They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. ...

Luke 23:11
And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.

John 19:2-3
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. / And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.

Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—


Treasury of Scripture

Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honored.

Lamentations 2:10,20
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground…

Lamentations 4:16
The 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.

Isaiah 47:6
I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

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Lamentations 5
1. A complaint of Zion in prayer unto God.














Princes have been hung up by their hands
The term "princes" refers to the leaders or nobility of Judah, those who were expected to guide and protect the people. In Hebrew, the word used is "שָׂרִים" (sarim), which denotes individuals of authority and influence. The imagery of being "hung up by their hands" is both literal and metaphorical, suggesting a brutal form of execution or humiliation. Historically, this reflects the severe treatment of Judah's leaders during the Babylonian conquest, where leaders were often publicly shamed or executed to demoralize the populace. This phrase underscores the complete reversal of fortune and the degradation of those who once held power, serving as a stark reminder of the consequences of turning away from God's covenant.

elders receive no respect
The "elders" in ancient Israelite society were the wise and experienced members of the community, often responsible for making important decisions and maintaining social order. The Hebrew word "זְקֵנִים" (z'kenim) conveys a sense of honor and authority. However, in the context of Lamentations, these elders are depicted as receiving "no respect," highlighting a societal breakdown. This lack of respect for elders signifies a loss of traditional values and the disintegration of social structures. Historically, this reflects the chaos and disorder following the Babylonian invasion, where the usual societal norms were upended. Scripturally, this serves as a lament for the loss of wisdom and guidance that comes from respecting and honoring those who have come before us, emphasizing the need for a return to godly principles and respect for authority as ordained by God.

(12) Princes are hanged . . .--The words point to the shameless exposure of the bodies of the dead. (Comp. the treatment of Saul and his sons in 1Samuel 31:10-12.) This was the common practice of the Assyrian kings (Records of the Past, i. 38). Neither age nor dignity (both are implied in the word "elders") was any safeguard against atrocities, either in life or death.

Verse 12. - Princes are hanged up by their hand; i.e. by the hand of the enemy. Impalement after death was a common punishment with the Assyrians and Babylonians. Thus Sennacherib says that, after capturing rebellious Ekron, he hung the bodies of the chief men on stakes all round the city ('Records of the Past,' 1:38). Benomi gives a picture of such an impalement from one of the plates in Botta's great work ('Nineveh and its Palaces,' p. 192).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Princes
שָׂרִים֙ (śā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince

have been hung up
נִתְל֔וּ (niṯ·lū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8518: To suspend

by their hands;
בְּיָדָ֣ם (bə·yā·ḏām)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3027: A hand

elders
זְקֵנִ֖ים (zə·qê·nîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 2205: Old

receive no
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

respect.
פְּנֵ֥י (pə·nê)
Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face


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OT Prophets: Lamentations 5:12 Princes were hanged up by their hand: (Lam. La Lm)
Lamentations 5:11
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