Yahweh has accomplished his wrath, he has poured out his fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devoured the foundations of it.
The writer recalls how Jerusalem expected to be rescued by Egypt, but no deliverance came. Instead the Babylonians came, making the Jerusalemites prisoners in their own city (17-18; cf. Jeremiah 37:6-10). Those who tried to flee to the mountains were caught, including the king Zedekiah, in whom the people had falsely placed their trust (19-20; cf. Jeremiah 39:3-5).