Charles Ellicott Commentary Lamentations 5:16

"The crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto us! for we have sinned." — Lamentations 5:16 (ASV)

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 Lamentations 5:7.