How doth the city sit, &c.— Houbigant renders the first part of this verse thus, How doth the city sit solitary! How is she become a widow, that was full of people! Cities are commonly described as the mothers of their inhabitants, and the kings and princes as their husbands and children. When therefore they are bereaved of these, they are said to be widows and childless. Under these affecting circumstances Jerusalem is described as sitting alone, and in a pensive condition, the multitude of her inhabitants being dispersed and destroyed. It is remarkable, that in times similar to this, that is to say, in the reign of the emperor Vespasian, a coin was struck, on which Judaea is represented under the image of a woman sitting in tears beneath a palm-tree. Jerusalem is said to have been great among the nations, as, in the time of her prosperity, she made conquests of various countries, and held them in subjection to her. See Isaiah 47:1. Calmet and Lowth.
Princess among the provinces— She that was sovereign over provinces. See what is said of David's conquests and sovereignty over the neighbouring states, 2 Samuel 8:1-14; 2 Samuel 10:6-19 of the extent of his son Solomon's dominions, 1 Kings 21:24 of the power of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 17:10-11 and also in that of Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26:6-8.