“Princes were hanged by their hand; the elders were not shown deference” (Lamentations 5:12).“Princes were hanged by their hand.” There was a government steward who entered the city, and he would take all the prominent residents of the city and hang them. Elders would come and seek to placate him,14They sought to convince him to spare them. but he would not accept their request. That is why it says: “Princes were hanged by their hand; the elders were not shown deference.”