Taking the historical background into account, it was evidently written somewhere between the destruction of Jerusalem (586 BC) and the release of King Jehoiachin (ca 562 BC; cf. 2 Kings 25:27–30). When the despairing tone of the last chapter is considered, it seems that the writer did not know about King Jehoiachin’s release from prison. Some scholars also surmise that Jeremiah’s prophecies of the restoration of Israel (Jeremiah 30:1–33:26) were unknown at the time of writing.1
1 Eh quoi! elle est assise solitaire, cette ville si peuplée! Elle est semblable à une veuve! Grande entre les nations, souveraine parmi les Etats, Elle est réduite à la servitude!