This verse explains the underlying meaning of verse 1. In verse 1 there is a double contrast between bright and dull gold and between stones that were once precious but are now treated as worthless. The contrast in verse 2 is between the precious young men who once lived in Jerusalem and the common clay pots they now resemble. And so verse 2 makes clear the way “gold” and “stones” are used in verse 1.
Precious sons of Zion: precious refers to that which is costly, luxurious, but has here the extended sense of that which is esteemed and honored in reference to people. Compare Esther 6.6. The translation of Zion should follow the practice established in chapters 1 and 2. In chapter 4 Zion is mentioned three times and Jerusalem once. If the translator has used only Jerusalem in the previous chapters, it will be advisable to translate Zion in that way here also, as well as in verses 11 and 22. Sons of Zion may mean the young men of Jerusalem, but it need not be limited in sense to the young men; it can also refer to Jerusalem’s men of all ages.
Worth their weight translates “weighed against.” The picture is of a scale with gold on one pan and the men of Jerusalem on the other. The point is that these men were as valuable as enormous amounts of gold. Gold here translates still another term for the precious metal, but the meaning is the same as before. The language used here is similar to the description of Wisdom in Job 28.15-19. Just as “common clay pots” (Good News Translation) are of limited value, so also those who were once highly respected now count for nothing.
How translates the same word as the opening word of the chapter. It means “How different it is now!” Good News Translation‘s rendering for English is adequate: “but now.” They are reckoned means “they are counted, valued.” This reckoning or valuing is the opinion of the enemy and of those who delight in the fall of Jerusalem.
The comparison with earthen pots may sometimes be translated, for example, “But now they are no more valuable than a clay pot.” The work of a potter’s hands emphasizes the ordinariness of pots, in contrast to gold, which would be more the creative work of God. Good News Translation does not translate the expression but says “common clay pots.” If the full expression is kept in translation, we may say, for example, “They are treated like the clay pots a potter makes.” In languages in which clay pots are not known, it may be possible to substitute something like wooden bowls or other containers of local manufacture that are easily thrown away when broken; for example, “but now they are discarded like common wooden bowls.”
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 .