Passage

The city sits alone

Source and translation

World English Bible, Protestant Edition · Public domain · en

¹How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She has become as a widow, who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave!

Lamentations 1:1World English Bible, Protestant Edition

The scene

The lament describes a once-crowded city sitting alone, like a widow, and a former princess becoming a slave.

To understand

The next line gives the city tears and describes friends becoming enemies. The poem speaks of the city as a person who has lost companions and former standing.

A question

What losses become visible through the images of widowhood and slavery?