Lamentations 1:8

8 Its people have committed many sins. They have become polluted. All those who honored Jerusalem now look down on it. They look at it as if it were a naked woman. The city groans and turns away in shame.

Lamentations 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 1:8

Jerusalem hath grievously sinned
Or, "hath sinned a sin" {r}; a great sin, as the Targum; the sin of idolatry, according to some; or of covenant breaking, as others; though perhaps no particular sin is meant, but many grievous sins; since she was guilty of a multitude of them, as in ( Lamentations 1:5 ) ; therefore she is removed;
out of her own land, and carried captive into another: or, is "for commotion" F19; for scorn and derision; the head being moved and shook at her by way of contempt: or rather, "for separation" F20; she being like a menstruous woman, defiled and separate from society: all that honoured her despise her;
they that courted her friendship and alliance in the time of her prosperity, as the Egyptians, now neglected her, and treated her with the utmost contempt, being in adversity: because they have seen her nakedness;
being stripped of all her good things she before enjoyed; and both her weakness and her wickedness being exposed to public view. The allusion is either to harlots, or rather to modest women, when taken captive, whose nakedness is uncovered by the brutish and inhuman soldiers: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward;
being covered with shame, because of the ill usage of her, as modest women will, being so used.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 (hajx ajx) "peccatum peccavit", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
F19 (hdynl) "in commotionem", Montanus, Vatablus, Calvin.
F20 "Ut separata", Grotius; "tanquam ex immunditia separata est", Junius & Tremellius.

Lamentations 1:8 In-Context

6 The city of Zion used to be full of glory. But now its glory has faded away. Its princes are like deer. They can't find anything to eat. They are almost too weak to get away from those who hunt them down.
7 Jerusalem's people are suffering and wandering. They remember all of the treasures they used to have. But they fell into the hands of their enemies. And no one was there to help them. Their enemies looked at them. They laughed because Jerusalem had been destroyed.
8 Its people have committed many sins. They have become polluted. All those who honored Jerusalem now look down on it. They look at it as if it were a naked woman. The city groans and turns away in shame.
9 Her skirts are dirty. She didn't think about how things might turn out. Her fall from power amazed everyone. And no one was there to comfort her. She said, "Lord, please pay attention to how much I'm suffering. My enemies have won the battle over me."
10 Jerusalem's enemies took away all of its treasures. Its people saw strangers enter its temple. The LORD had commanded them not to do that.
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