1:1 How lonely. The first verse sets the theme of the lament: Jerusalem’s loss of greatness. The city, once favored, is desolate from the Babylonians’ plundering (Is. 1:21–26).

widow. Widowhood and solitude (Jer. 15:17) are typical pictures of abandonment.

slave. Slavery is contrary to God’s ultimate design for Israel. They had become a nation when God delivered them from slavery in Egypt so that they could serve him (Deut. 6:20–25; Jer. 2:14; Deut. 15:12–18). The blessings of living in the Promised Land and serving according to the Law were replaced with the punishments of exile and forced labor (Deut. 28:47–50), because the people had often broken the covenant they accepted when they left Egypt (Ex. 24:7, 8).