It is traditional to read at the beginning of Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the month of Av the Book of Lamentations, of the sorrow of what has befallen the Jewish people.

The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot (or "Five Scrolls") alongside the Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Ecclesiastes and the Book of Esther although there is no set order.