Lamentations 1:2

• Many people used to come to *Jerusalem. They do not come any more. God wants to make the people sorry. And he wants to make them turn back to himself. God is able to take our friends away from us if it will affect us like that.

• Compare this verse to Jeremiah 9:1.

v3 The enemy has taken the people away as prisoners. They suffer trouble and hard labour. Enemies have forced the *Jews to leave their own country. In a foreign land, they have no security. And they cannot escape.

Verse 3 The people of the city must now live in a place that is far away from home. People who do not obey God will never have a quiet mind. Compare Isaiah 57:1-2 with Isaiah 48:22.

v4 The empty roads to Zion (*Jerusalem) are sad places. Now nobody comes to God’s *temple on the special days. The city gates are silent places. People are cruel to the city’s young women and its priests sigh. Jerusalem’s people are very sad.

Verse 4 ‘The city gates are silent places.’ This refers to the places just inside the gates. People used to meet and do business there. This is not happening now. Compare chapter 5:14.

v5 *Judah’s enemies now control the city. Those who hate them have all that they want. The *Lord has punished the people in *Jerusalem for their many *sins. Enemies have taken away their children as slaves.