Chastisement of the daughter of my people: chastisement, according to the Revised Standard Version footnote, may also be rendered “iniquity.” Here, as in 3.39, the consequence of iniquity is in focus, and so the term may more aptly be rendered “punishment.” The daughter of my people is again the people of Jerusalem or, from the poet’s point of view, “My people” (Good News Translation). Their punishment has, in the poet’s view, been greater than the punishment (in Hebrew, “sin”) of Sodom. For the account of the destruction of Sodom, see Genesis 19.24-25. Another comparison between the sin of Sodom and that of Jerusalem is found in Ezekiel 16.46-52. The destruction of Sodom is referred to several times in the Old Testament as a supreme example of the punishment of sin. Jeremiah 23.14 indicates that Sodom was regarded as a standard of comparison for sinfulness.
In translation it will sometimes be clearer to say that Sodom was a city punished for its sinfulness; for example, “Jerusalem and its people have been punished more than the people who lived in the sinful city of Sodom. It (Sodom) was also destroyed.”
Which was overthrown in a moment: overthrown is used as a technical term referring to the fate of Sodom, as in Deuteronomy 29.23; Jeremiah 20.16. The tradition that Sodom’s destruction was sudden is reflected in the account in Genesis 19, where the members of Lot’s family are said to be the only ones who escaped its “downfall.” The context here emphasizes the suddenness of Sodom’s destruction, in contrast to the long siege endured by Jerusalem, which was destroyed by human enemies. This suggests that the poet stresses the swift and supernatural nature of Sodom’s destruction, rather than the reaction of the people of his time to the condition of Sodom. If the translator follows Good News Translation, “at the hands of God,” it will be necessary in many languages to make God the agent of the destruction; for example, “Sodom is the city that God quickly destroyed” or “God suddenly destroyed the wicked city of Sodom.”
No hand, meaning no human hand, being laid on it: since no human agency was responsible for the destruction of Sodom, it was clearly the work of God. This may not, however, be the meaning intended by the poet, since the Hebrew verb means “twist.” New International Version reflects this meaning: “without a hand turned to help her.” But this is an English idiom and not Hebrew usage. New English Bible comes closer to the meaning of “twist” for this verb with “and no one wrung his hands (in sorrow).”
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 .