The aptly named Book of Lamentations concerns the destruction of Jerusalem at God’s behest. The book is traditionally attributed to Jeremiah, known as the “Weeping Prophet,” and it serves as a postscript to the Book of Jeremiah. However, most scholars believe that it is by an anonymous source.

The book comprises five poems, each arranged in a series of short, rhymeless stanzas, describing the state of Jerusalem after its annihilation by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II. The prophet Jeremiah lived in Judah during the Babylonian invasion, which culminated in the siege of the holy city in 586 BCE.

Lamentations opens with the foreboding words “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!” From this gloomy start, the narrative becomes progressively darker, describing the Babylonian army breaching the city walls of Jerusalem, killing or enslaving all the people, and burning the city to the ground. The survivors are described in detail, with harrowing accounts of how mothers ate their own children in order to survive, children beg for bread but no one gives them any, and young and old lie in the dust of the streets (Lamentations 2:20–21 and 4:4).

By the Waters of Babylon (1882–1883), an oil painting by Evelyn De Morgan, depicts an exiled patriarch (under the tree) with other exiles weeping over the loss of their Promised Land.

Terrible punishments

After the fall of Jerusalem, worldly possessions and wealth now mean nothing: Chapter 4:1 describes how gold has lost its luster and precious stones are scattered on every street corner. It appears that all hope is lost, such is the misery and despair that is recounted. Nevertheless, despite inflicting such a terrible punishment on His people, Jeremiah suggests that there is still reason to hope: “For no one is cast off by the Lord for ever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone” (3:32–33). Lamentations is full of references to tears and crying, including the agonizing and despair of Jeremiah himself. Lamentations 4:6 states that the punishment of the people of Jerusalem is greater even than that of the people of Sodom. The extent of God’s wrath is made abundantly clear as the narrative unfolds. However, the underlying tone throughout the book is that, though His anger knows no limits, God suffers Himself at having to wreak such terrible carnage in the first place.

At the heart of Lamentations is an important message of peace and reconciliation, which points to the inexhaustible possibilities for redemption and forgiveness if the exiles maintain their faith in God. He is angry—but He also grieves that the longstanding heinous behavior by the Israelite people has forced Him to punish them so harshly. The message of Lamentations is clear: when God’s people suffer, God suffers, too.

City of Babylon

Babylon, where the Israelites were taken as slaves and exiles, was the capital city of Babylonia in southwest Asia, now southern Iraq. The city sat on the Euphrates River, north of the modern town of Hillah.

The fall of the city, and the end of the neo-Babylonian empire with it, is predicted by the prophets in Isaiah 14:4 and 21:9, as well as Jeremiah 50–51. The city was under Babylonian control until 539 BCE, when Cyrus the Great of Persia invaded and killed King, Belshazzar. However, Babylon was fairly unscathed by the invasion and continued to flourish under Persian rule.

See also: Entering the Promised Land • The Fall of Jerusalem • The Prophet Jeremiah • Daniel in Babylon