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The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., which led to the exile of the people of Israel, drastically changed the community's life. In the midst of this darkness, the five poems collected as the biblical book of Lamentations emerged as a life-embracing work. This sophisticated yet accessible commentary now makes the message of Lamentations come alive for Christian existence today. The distinctiveness of the Palestinian voice found in these poems is maintained as they bear witness to the horror and pain of human suffering. Yet, beneath the words, a determined will to live emerges and confronts human suffering, probes God and God's actions, and anticipates a new kind of human community that will arise from Zion, even in the midst of God's silence.
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