The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
Many have labored to explain this verse, the Jews especially, yet they cannot make it square with what befell them after: scattered repeatedly into all lands, expelled from Italy by Claudius as contagious. The Prophet simply means God dealt so severely that no second exile was needed; the land lay desolate, and nothing short of extreme rigor remained.
AI summary
Like David's psalms, lamentation ends in comfort: light from darkness. Zion's troubles shall cease once they have done their work; God's justice is satisfied and sin taken away. The captivity ends, and Edom's insults over Jacob shall themselves be repaid.
AI summary
Commenting on Lamentations 4:21-22
The seventy years in Babylon fulfilled this partly, but the fuller accomplishment spans both temples' destruction and the Romans' assault. Yet we observe the Jews remain in captivity still, which shows this prophecy reaches forward to their final restoration, when Edom, or Rome itself, shall be visited for its sins.
AI summary