This is another acrostic poem and Jerusalem is again personified as a woman. The city is seen as experiencing the wrath of God. There was no pity in the Lord's judgement. Now this might offend some of our ideas about God, but let's look at the situation. God had spent literally hundreds of years warning Israel, yet she paid no heed. So Jerusalem had ample opportunity to avoid the calamity. So God is amazingly patient, He is slow to anger. But there comes a point when the patience is at an end and the judgement does come. So anyone who thinks because God is a God of love hell won't happen is a fool. And see that the destruction is seen as something that God actively caused, it is not something He merely allowed to happen.
The elders sat in mourning, and the writer himself is torn in is heart over what has happened.
Note in verse 13 the reference to Jerusalem's wound being deep and asking who can heal her. The wounds are the wounds of sin.
Verse 14 talks about the false prophets. The purpose of a prophet is to expose sin and so warn off calamity. Jerusalem had chosen to reject the true prophets and instead to listen to the false prophets.
Verse 17 says that God planned this long ago. Chapters in the first five books of the Bible warned clearly enough that these things would happen.
Verse 20 shows that this was written by an eyewitness, or at least someone with very good sources. These things actually happened.
There was no escape from the judgement. Likewise, there will be no escape from the final judgement, so if we are wise we will repent now and turn to Christ now.
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