Who is she in lamentations

The misery of that poor people cometh under my view, as it were, and my heart is therewith very much affected and afflicted. How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations!

The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. Once she was full of people , now she is empty. Once she was great among the nations , now she is like a slave. Jeremiah is never specifically mentioned as the author of Lamentations, but it is a reasonable conclusion from both long-standing tradition and great similarity to the book of Jeremiah.

It is likely that he wrote this collection of five poems after the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem but before he was taken to Egypt against his will Jeremiah Jeremiah is specifically mentioned as the author of other laments 2 Chronicles Sparta also, that other eye of Greece, is now a small burrow called Misithra, having nothing to boast of but the fame and thoughts of its former greatness. She weeps bitterly in the night : With poetic skill Jeremiah thought of Jerusalem as the widow princess brought low, weeping uncontrollably with none to comfort her.

There is no exultation over the fulfilment of his predictions, and there is a twofold loyalty manifest throughout, first to God in the confession of sin, and then to his people in the expression of their sorrow.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her : In better days, Jerusalem enjoyed loyal alliances. Those one-time friends became her enemies. She could rely on God for her safety against external aggression, or she could turn to allies great and small.

Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness. Her adversaries have become the master, Her enemies prosper; For the LORD has afflicted her Because of the multitude of her transgressions.

Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed. Her princes have become like deer That find no pasture, That flee without strength Before the pursuer.

Judah has gone into captivity : After the poetic images of the first few verses, Jeremiah simply reported the fact. Judah was conquered and captive. Once busy entrances to the city seemed empty all her gates are desolate , and all who were connected with Jerusalem are dispirited; they sigh and are afflicted. For the LORD has afflicted her : Jeremiah understood that this catastrophe was not due to fate, human cruelty, or blind cycles of history.

It was because of the multitude of her transgressions. Now, the people and place of Jerusalem were desolate and defeated. Her princes have become like deer : Both hope and leadership for the city abandoned Jerusalem. The princes ran away like deer , but also without success that flee without strength before the pursuer.

The city was now disregarded and forgotten and insignificant in the eyes of the world. And lastly in the first verse of Lamentations 1, Jeremiah grieves over the fact that Jerusalem had gone from a refined ruling over others to being ruled over herself. Jerusalem is pictured as a princess or queen — one who rules and does so in a refined and dignified manner.

The emphasis is maybe not so much that she was feared as she was treasured and honored. She ruled over others in an honorable respectable fashion. But the honor and respect had been stripped away.

And now she was a slave — being ruled over by others. The city had gone from fullness to emptiness, from prominence to widowhood, and from ruling to being ruled. If the Lord has brought any of these realities into your life, do what Jeremiah did — lament these facts. Talk about them. And talk about them to the Lord. Food became very scarce. Jeremiah had continually warned Jerusalem before the fall to repent, but they wouldn't listen. Now Jeremiah observes in verse 15, "The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.

Though the Babylonians were the conquerors, Jeremiah credits "the Lord" with the fall. Jerusalem was helpless before the mighty Babylonian army In verses , Jeremiah calls upon God to punish the enemies of Jerusalem - those wicked Babylonians whom God had used as his instruments of judgment.

And they did end up getting their just rewards, but not until about 50 years or so later. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? Verse 5 says, " The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel , he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. Notice verse 17, " The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.

In this chapter, Jeremiah emphasizes the thoroughness of the devastation of Jerusalem. It wasn't just conquered; it was ransacked in the process, accompanied by horrendous suffering. The once-proud Jerusalem was now viewed as a disgrace, as seen in verse 15, "All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. Previous Next. Chapter 1 The book opens with the image of a lonely city. Her name the Poet imagines her mainly as a woman is Zion, but we modern folks would probably just call her Jerusalem.

Why is she so distressed? Well, back in the day, this city used to be the Queen Bee around these parts. She was super important. The wife of God. A princess and ruler. The mother of dragons Okay, that last one was actually from Game of Thrones , but you get the point. Zion was a big deal. But now she's been invaded by an unnamed enemy although we Bible scholars know it's Babylon and her fortunes have taken a serious turn for the worse.

Her city's deserted and turned to rubble. She's a widow.