II CHRONICLES 35:25

The Daily Bible comment on this verse notes there were many “Laments” (with a capital “L”) written to commemorate King Josiah. Are these recorded in the Book of Lamentations?

The quick answer to your question is “no.”

Jeremiah had an incredibly long career as a prophet starting during Josiah's reign in 626 BC and continuing until just after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The Book of Lamentations is strictly concerned with laments over this latter event and therefore would not have any material written by Jeremiah concerning Josiah's earlier death in 608 BC.

II Chronicles does indeed refer to a book entitled Laments which apparently was used early in Israel's history but is no longer in existence. The same thing is true of over 30 other books mentioned in I and II Chronicles, of which we have no current knowledge. (Jacob M. Myers, I Chronicles, pp. xlv-xlviii) As just one example, a few verses later in II Chronicles 35:27, the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah is referenced. This is not our present I and II Kings, but probably was used as a resource in composing the biblical accounts.

As far as the authorship of the Book of Lamentations is concerned, the Hebrew manuscripts did not attach Jeremiah's name to these poems. However, by the time of Christ it was generally attributed to Jeremiah, possibly on the basis of the II Chronicles passage which associates Jeremiah with the composition of laments. The debate over who wrote Lamentations continues among scholars today, but it should not deter us from treating the book as fully canonical since many other books of the Bible do not have a stated authorship either. They are Spirit-breathed, inspired writings no matter who the human author was.