The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.

LAMENTATIONS 5:15KJV
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Lamentations 5:15 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 5:15 mean?

Lamentations 5:15 describes how the people’s happiness and celebration have ended, and their times of joyful dancing have been replaced with deep sorrow and mourning. The verse expresses a complete reversal of mood, showing the loss and grief felt after Jerusalem’s destruction.

The speaker is the community of Judah, addressing God after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. The verse uses the language of lost joy and dancing to highlight how drastically life has changed—what was once a time for celebration is now a time for grief. This line is part of a larger prayer describing the suffering and emotional devastation experienced by the survivors.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 5:15

  • The word for "joy" is מָשׂוֹשׂ (masos), which often refers to gladness or delight that is felt deeply. Its use here emphasizes how profound the loss is—this is not just happiness, but the core of their emotional well-being.
  • "Heart" is לֵב (lev), meaning the inner self or the center of one’s feelings. The verse points to a sorrow that is not just outward but felt at the deepest level.
  • "Ceased" is שָׁבַת (shavat), meaning to stop or come to an end. The joy has not faded gradually; it has been abruptly cut off.
  • "Dance" is מָחוֹל (machol), which refers to a circle dance often done at celebrations. The image is of communal joy being replaced by shared mourning.
  • "Turned" is הָפַךְ (hafakh), meaning to be changed or transformed, often suddenly or dramatically. The verse stresses the total reversal from joy to sorrow.
  • "Mourning" is אֵבֶל (evel), the word for deep grief, especially the kind that follows a major loss or death.

Why Lamentations 5:15 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the suffering after Jerusalem’s fall was not just physical but also emotional and communal, affecting the very heart of the people’s identity.
  • The contrast between dance and mourning highlights how completely life has changed, helping readers understand the depth of loss experienced.
  • Lamentations 5:15 connects personal feelings to national tragedy, showing how public events can deeply impact private and communal joy.

Where else these words appear

“dance” Hebrew H4234 · used in 6 verses

  • Psalms 30:11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
  • Psalms 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
  • Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

“joy” Hebrew H4885 · used in 16 verses

  • Job 8:19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.
  • Isaiah 32:13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
  • Isaiah 66:10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:

“mourning” Hebrew H60 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
  • Esther 4:3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
  • Jeremiah 6:26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

“ceased” Hebrew H7673 · used in 67 verses

  • Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
  • 2 Chronicles 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
  • Jeremiah 48:33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.