In the first three verses Jerusalem’s pain and dire situation is described. Jerusalem is compared to a widow and her terrible reversal from a noblewoman to a hard labourer is described. Also, the depth of her sorrow due to the forsaking and back-stabbing by her lovers and friends and the exile of her children is noted. Judah has left the land of rest for places of no rest among the nations.1
1 How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.