Famine was also part of God’s covenant curses (see Leviticus 26:26). When Jerusalem was under siege, there was not even bread left to buy. Later, in Lamentations 1:19 we read that even the most important people (priests and elders) died of hunger during that time. Now that the hungry people are let out of the city, they are taking their treasures with them and trying to exchange it for food. What a desperate situation, one that we also see today in times of war. Again, Jerusalem can only ask: “Look, O LORD…!”
11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. “Look, O LORD, and see, for I am despised.”