Many families were deeply impacted by the Babylonian invasion. Already under the reign of King Jehoiachin, some of the strongest and ablest men were deported (2 Kings 24:14–16). With the fall of Jerusalem ten years later, many men died from the sword, disease, or famine. Consequently, the people who remained mostly consisted of women and children, who were now widows and orphans.
3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.