Lamentations 1:1
How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
The verse portrays Zion, Jerusalem, after its destruction and the carrying of Judah into captivity, and belongs to the lament over that captivity and its desolation and suffering. It sets the city's former condition, full of people and great among the nations as princess among the provinces, populous and influential, against its present condition, solitary and deserted, become as a widow and tributary or subject to others. The reversal is from populous influence to desolation, from greatness among nations to subjection and suffering. Its words express overwhelming grief at this fall. Its picture of deserted Jerusalem is the setting for Ezekiel's grief in exile, while his vision shows that God remains enthroned and in control above earthly rulers.