SOURCE: Fischer, James A., C.M. “Lamentations.” In The Collegeville Bible Commentary, 804-11. Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1989.

In the following essay, Fischer provides a close reading of the poems of the Book of Lamentations, asserting that the pieces are “incandescent with emotions of desolation, grief, incomprehension, and indignation.”

Traditionally the Book of Lamentations has been pictured as the writing of Jeremiah the prophet as he saw the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 b.c.e. This certainly gives visual expression to much of the thought. The prophet was watching the smoke rise from the destroyed city. He heard the wailing of women as they found their dead ones or sought those long lost. Soldiers milled about, driving victims before them and setting fire to the ruins. It was the prophet's city and his people. Often had he preached in it, imploring his compatriots to turn back from folly...