The city is Jerusalem. The date is after either 597 BC or 587 BC. In 598, provoked by Jehoiakim (609–598), Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. Less than ten years later Zedekiah rebelled against his overlord, Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian king laid siege to, captured, and burned the city. The acrostic poem depicts the result, notes the enemies’ triumph, and acknowledges that God brought about the disaster because of Judah’s sin. The absence of a comforter is a repeated note.

1:1–6 · A lost splendor:“How” is a literary feature of a lament or dirge (cf. 2:1; 4:1–2; Jer. 48:17). The tone is at once affectionate and sympathetic, like a pastor coming to the bereaved. The city, once prestigious, has been reduced to slave status. Jerusalem’s greatness under Solo…