Charles Ellicott Commentary Lamentations 1:4

"The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly; All her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh: Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness." — Lamentations 1:4 (ASV)

The ways of Zion do mourn. —The words paint what we may call the religious desolation of Jerusalem. The roads leading to it, the “gates” by which it was entered, were no longer thronged with pilgrims and worshippers. “Virgins” are joined with “priests” as taking part in the hymns and rejoicing processions of the great festivals (Exodus 15:20; Psalms 68:25; Judges 21:19–21; Jeremiah 31:13).