How are the effects of famine in the aftermath of the fallen Jerusalem described?

After the fall of Jerusalem, the people were not better off. To find food after the fall of Jerusalem was just as difficult as during the siege. It is already stated that water and wood was difficult to obtain (Lamentations 5:4) as well as bread (Lamentations 5:6).¹ The writer continues this theme as the starving people had to get food. Because of the hostile forces occupying the land, it was only possible by risking their lives.² Marauding Babylonians or other enemies were lurking when the starving people from the city would venture out, seeking food.³ Probably they had hidden some food in the dessert and went to recover it. The sword in the wilderness may refer to the enemies lying in wait in the wilderness to confiscate by force anything the people of Jerusalem would bring back. The point of Lamentations 5:10 is that the people were starving and any effort to obtain food was dangerous.⁴ The result of limited nutrition and hydration was physical deterioration. It is described in Lamentations 5:11, referring to their skin as hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine. This expression compares their wrinkled skin to a furnace. The wrinkled skin is a result of weight loss while the discoloration of the skin is due to malnutrition.⁵