The first two verses serve as a general introduction of the main theme of the chapter, the mistreatment of the people of Jerusalem. After the familiar 'ekah ("How!") at the beginning, the writer creates a bit of suspense by starting off, not with a literal statement, but with highly figurative language which is explained only in the following stanza. Gold, which as the most precious of metals was a tradititional literary figure for what is of highest value, is despised! Precious stones are being thrown in the gutter. That is, he explains (vs. 2), the people of Zion, worth more even than gold, have been treated like worthless broken dishes. The clay vessel, most common of ancient artifacts, as any excavation shows, was proverbial for cheapness. When one was broken the sherds were thrown out, not pieced together, and there was little regret over the loss; cf. Hosea 8:8; Jer 22:28; 48:38;. Cf. 1:1: "How worthless I have become!"