Who were the “lovers” and “friends” of the personified woman, Jerusalem, and what happened to them?

The whole of Lamentations 1:2 focuses on Jerusalem’s loneliness and lack of comfort. The reason for Jerusalem’s weeping is because of her lovers and friends who had forsaken her. The intensity of her anguish is because there is no one who has any sympathy with her or to comfort her. This problem recurs throughout the lamentation as a refrain (see Lamentations 1:16, Lamentations 1:17, Lamentations 1:21).¹

Lovers refers to Judah’s flirtations with the idols of other nations as well as her hoped-for political allies with whom Judah made a treaty to ward off Babylon. The metaphor of the lovers calls to mind other passages that refer to God as Israel’s husband (see Jeremiah 2:18,Jeremiah 2:25, Jeremiah 36:1–37:21; Ezekiel 16:15,Ezekiel 16:28–29; Hosea 8:9–10). Two examples of such political allies were Egypt, which was unwilling to help Judah, and the neighbouring country of Edom which mocked and looted Jerusalem during her downfall (see Obadiah 1:10–14). Jerusalem was unfaithful to God, like a wife to her husband, and therefore committing spiritual adultery.

The last line of the verse continues this idea in the same manner, now referring to these neighbouring countries with whom Jerusalem made a treaty as friends (see also Jeremiah 27:1–22).

These weak allies were not capable of saving Jerusalem and Judah from the destruction of the Babylonians. Only God could have done so. Worse than their incapability was the fact that these nations now turned against Judah by betraying her and becoming her enemies.² They helped the Babylonians to plunder her.

So now Jerusalem was God-forsaken, without any lovers or friends, alone without any comforters. They not only abandoned her; they have betrayed her and have become her enemies.