Passage
Zain. Jerusalem hath remembered the days of her affliction, and prevarication of all her desirable things which she had from the days of old, when her people fell in the enemy's hand, and there was no helper; the enemies have seen her, and have mocked at her sabbaths.
Nearby Context
Lamentations 1:5 He. Her adversaries are become her lords; her enemies are enriched; because the Lord hath spoken against her for the multitude of her iniquities; her children are led into captivity, before the face of the oppressor.
Lamentations 1:6 Vau. And from the daughter of Sion, all her beauty is departed; her princes are become like rams that find no pastures; and they are gone away without strength before the face of the pursuer.
Lamentations 1:7 Zain. Jerusalem hath remembered the days of her affliction, and prevarication of all her desirable things which she had from the days of old, when her people fell in the enemy's hand, and there was no helper; the enemies have seen her, and have mocked at her sabbaths.
Lamentations 1:8 Heth. Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore is she become unstable; all that honoured her, have despised her, because they have seen her shame; but she sighed, and turned backward.
Lamentations 1:9 Teth. Her filthiness is on her feet, and she hath not remembered her end; she is wonderfully cast down, not having a comforter: behold, O Lord, my affliction, because the enemy is lifted up.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "zain", "jerusalem", "hath", "remembered", "days", "affliction", "prevarication", and "desirable". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "zain" and "jerusalem", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Vau And from the daughter of Sion..." into verse 8's "Heth Jerusalem hath grievously sinned therefore is...", so "zain" and "jerusalem" belong inside that flow. In Lamentations context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "zain" and "jerusalem" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.