Jeremiah continues to express his personal pain at the disaster that is to strike Jerusalem. He speaks of the city as a tent, his tent. The children are the inhabitants of the city, his fellow citizens. The city is about to be destroyed, and all the inhabitants will either killed or captured by the enemy. There will be no one left to rebuild that city that is so precious to Israel and to Jeremiah.
20 Ma tente est détruite, Tous mes cordages sont rompus; Mes fils m'ont quittée, ils ne sont plus; Je n'ai personne qui dresse de nouveau ma tente, Qui relève mes pavillons.