Lamentations Chapter 1

“How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! etc.] These are the words of Jeremiah; so the Targum introduces them, “Jeremiah the prophet and high priest said;” and began thus, “how”; not inquiring the reasons of this distress and ruin; but as amazed and astonished at it; and commiserating the sad case of the city of Jerusalem, which a little time ago was exceeding populous; had thousands of inhabitants in it; besides those that came from other parts to see it, or trade with it: and especially when the king of Babylon had invaded the land, which drove vast numbers to Jerusalem for safety; and which was…”

“how is she . . . widow! she that was great, &c.--English Version is according to the accents. But the members of each sentence are better balanced in antithesis, thus, "how is she that was great among the nations become as a widow! (how) she who was princess among the provinces (that is, she who ruled over the surrounding provinces from the Nile to the Euphrates, Gen 15:18; Kg1 4:21; Ch2 9:26; Ezr 4:20) become tributary!" [MAURER]. sit--on the ground; the posture of mourners (Lam 2:10; Ezr 9:3). The coin struck on the taking of Jerusalem by Titus, representing Judea as a female sitting solitary under a palm tree,…”

“In these two verses is the same sad image as appears in the well-known medal of Titus, struck to celebrate his triumph over Jerusalem. A woman sits weeping beneath a palm-tree, and below is the legend “Judaea capta.” Translate Lamentations 1:1 : How sitteth solitary the city that was full of people: She is become as a widow that was great among the nations: A princess among provinces she is become a vassal. Tributary - In the sense of personal labor Joshua 16:10. return to 'Top of Page'”

“A widow - She that had a king, or rather a God, that was an husband to her, now was forsaken of God, and her king taken from her. Lamentations 1:3”

“1:1-22 Chapter 1 mourns the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem, recognizing that this was God’s well-deserved judgment on Israel’s sins.”

“How doth: The LXX have the following words as an introduction: "And it came to pass after Israel had been carried captive, and Jerusalem was become desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said." Lam 2:1, Lam 4:1; Isa 14:12; Jer 50:23; Zep 2:15; Rev 18:16, Rev 18:17 sit: Lam 2:10; Isa 3:26, Isa 47:1-15, Isa 50:5, Isa 52:2, Isa 52:7; Jer 9:11; Eze 26:16 full: Psa 122:4; Isa 22:2; Zac 8:4, Zac 8:5 as a: Isa 47:8, Isa 47:9, Isa 54:4; Rev 18:7 great: Kg1 4:21; Ch2 9:26; Ezr 4:20 how is: Lam 5:16; Kg2 23:33, Kg2 23:35; Neh 5:4, Neh 9:37 Lamentations 1:2”

“Doleful consideration and description of the dishonour that has befallen Jerusalem. In these verses the prophet, in the name of the godly, pours out his heart before the Lord. The dreadful turn that things have taken is briefly declared in Lam 1:1 in two clauses, which set forth the fall of Jerusalem from its former glory into the depths of disgrace and misery, in such a way that the verse contains the subject unfolded in the description that follows. We have deviated from the Masoretic pointing, and arranged the verse into three members, as in the succeeding verses, which nearly throughout form tristichs, and…”