The expression daughter of Zion expands again the poet’s terms referring to the city of Jerusalem. This expression is found throughout Lamentations and also in Isaiah 1.8; 10.32; Jeremiah 4.31. The parallel expressions “daughter of Judah” and “daughter of my people” are also used in Lamentations. All of these expressions serve poetically to picture Jerusalem as a woman. A literal rendering of daughter of Zion must usually be avoided so as not to confuse the reader. In such cases it is better to say “Jerusalem,” as in Good News Translation.
Her majesty and Good News Translation “splendor of Jerusalem” appear to refer to the glory of the former rulers and not particularly to Jerusalem’s external beauty. However, the latter meaning may also be included, since the term is very general. It is often translated by words meaning “pomp,” “honor,” “glory,” and “beauty.” The honor, splendor, glory of Jerusalem is gone. She has it no longer because she has been conquered and defiled by a pagan nation. Good News Translation “The splendor of Jerusalem is a thing of the past” is a good translation model. We may also say, for example, “All the things that made Jerusalem great have gone,” “The greatness of Zion exists no longer,” “Zion no longer has any greatness.”
Her princes refers to the rulers or leaders of Jerusalem who held civil authority. This may sometimes be translated, for example, “the chiefs of Jerusalem” or “those who ruled the city.”
Have become like harts: Jerusalem’s leaders are compared to male “deer” (Good News Translation). The point of the comparison is that they are hunted down, are weak and exhausted. In some areas the translation of harts or “deer” will require substituting another wild animal that eats grass and is hunted. In areas where pastures are unknown, it will often be necessary to say, for example, “They are like deer that are weak and have no grass to eat” or “They are weak and hungry, like an animal that finds no food.”
They fled without strength: they refers to the princes or rulers who have been compared to deer. Before the pursuer is parallel in meaning and form to “before the foe” in the final half-line of verse 5. Pursuer, in the context of the deer, refers to “hunters,” as in Good News Translation. The children are led away, perhaps like sheep, while the rulers are hunted down to be killed like deer.
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 .