The material known as the Book of Lamentations consists of five chapters containing material related to the fall of Jerusalem. Each chapter seems to be an independent poem. The author of these five literary and spiritual masterpieces wrote against the background of the greatest tragedy Jerusalem's inhabitants had ever experienced. The mighty city lay in ruins, having been ravished by Babylon's mighty war machine. Bible scholars are in virtual unanimity that Nebuchadnezzar's recent invasions of 597 and 586 B.C. served as the occasion for the destruction." - Max Anders; Fred M. Wood; Ross H. McLaren