It compares the city’s past and present. In the past she was like a queen or princess, but she has fallen so greatly that she is now likened to a slave.1 Jerusalem, which once ruled over nations such as Edom and Moab, is indeed reduced to a slave.2 Jerusalem no longer demands taxes from other nations but becomes like a forced labourer that provides compulsory labour for her conquerors. So, it is a description of how far the once-proud city has fallen. She, who in former times was ruler of other countries, is now herself in captivity, ravaged and despoiled.3
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!