Judah has gone into exile: Judah serves to widen the perspective. It is the entire nation or kingdom that suffers exile, not just the city of Jerusalem. The reference is to the people of Judah, as in Good News Translation. In translation it is important to avoid the impression that the poet has left off speaking of Jerusalem and has begun a new subject called Judah. Accordingly it may be advisable to speak of “Jerusalem in the region of Judah” or “Judah, the region around Jerusalem.” In many languages it will be necessary to speak of the people of the area. In that case we may say, for example, “The people of Judah, where Jerusalem is.” The same principle will apply in verse 4, where Zion refers to Jerusalem.
Translators will notice a difference in translation between Revised Standard Version gone into exile because of affliction and Good News Translation “helpless slaves, forced away from home.” The reason for this difference is that the Hebrew verb translated gone into exile may be understood as either active or passive. Revised Standard Version takes it to be active and consequently gives the impression that Judah went voluntarily into exile because of the afflictions she suffered at home. This interpretation agrees with the alternative given in the Good News Translation footnote but does not accord with the rest of chapter 1. The Good News Translation text rendering is to be preferred.
Gone into exile may be expressed as in Good News Translation “forced away from home”; or we may say, for example, “The people were taken as prisoners to other countries” or “Their enemies forced them to go and live in other lands.”
She dwells now among the nations means that Judah is living, not in her own land, but rather in the lands of foreigners. Here nations, in contrast to its use in verse 1, refers to the non-Israelite peoples. Bible en français courant and others translate “pagans.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “and must live among foreign people.” Another interpretation, which is followed by the Anchor Bible (AB), is that this is a reference to the time before the exile, when Judah was an independent nation like other nations. However, it seems preferable to understand this statement as describing Judah’s present situation, and so a rendering such as Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is to be preferred.
Finds no resting place: for many years Judah had been the battleground between Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon, who all threatened her independence. Judah had therefore failed to enjoy the security or “rest” to which she looked forward, having, as Good News Translation says, “no place to call their own.” The poet uses the idea of “the rest” which Israel had been promised in Deuteronomy 12.9, “you have not as yet come to the rest … which the LORD your God gives you” (Revised Standard Version), as well as the lack of “rest” mentioned in Deuteronomy 28.65. The focus is on the absence of peace and security experienced by the people of Judah even before the capture of Jerusalem, and this situation is also summarized in the last unit of the verse. In some languages resting place may be rendered “a place where people farm their own lands,” “a place where people eat from their own gardens,” or “a place where people’s hearts are always cool.”
Her pursuers have all overtaken her: pursuers refers to her “enemies, persecutors.” The picture is of her enemies chasing Judah in order to catch her and strike her down. They have been successful and have overtaken her, that is, “caught her, seized her,” and all of this in the midst of her distress. This last expression translates what is literally “between the straits.” This expression is used only here, and so the meaning is not fully certain. The reference is probably to a military pursuit, in which a fleeing army is driven into a narrow pass where movement is slow and difficult, and this results in its capture and defeat. Translators may follow Revised Standard Version, but Good News Translation, which speaks of “no way to escape,” is probably more accurate.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .