Charles Ellicott Commentary Lamentations 4:12

"The kings of the earth believed not, neither all the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem." — Lamentations 4:12 (ASV)

Would not have believed. —In looking to the fact that Jerusalem had been taken by Shishak (1 Kings 14:26) and Joash (2 Kings 14:13), the statement seems at first hyperbolical. It has to be remembered, however, that since the latter of these two captures, the city had been strongly fortified by Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Manasseh, and the failure of Sennacherib’s attempt had probably led to the impression that it was impregnable.