5. Her palaces. Verses 5-8 portray the progressive steps in the destruction of the city: the palaces and forts, the Temple, the altar, and the walls. Four weeks after the capture of Jerusalem the Babylonian commander, Nebuzar-adan, had burned the Temple, the royal palace, the leading residences, and broken down the walls (Jer. 52:12-14).
His strong holds. Literally, “fortifications.” The variation in gender here probably is the result of thinking of the palaces as belonging to Jerusalem, “the daughter of Judah,” while the fortified cities (including Jerusalem herself) belong to the country, Israel.
Mourning and lamentation. ta’aniyyah wa’aniyyah. These synonymous words, both from the Hebrew verb ’anah, “to mourn,” are very effective poetically (see Jewish Publication Society Version, “mourning and moaning”). The same Hebrew words are also used in Isa. 29:2.