Thomas Aquinas Commentary Lamentations 1:8

"Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is become as an unclean thing; All that honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: Yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward." — Lamentations 1:8 (ASV)

Here he shows the cause of such a great misfortune.

First, he presents the sin itself. Second, he shows the progression of the sin, as seen in the words her filthiness is on her feet (Lamentations 1:9).

Concerning the first point, he does two things:

1. He presents the sin: sin, substituting this wordAntonomasia, which is a figure of speech (in particular, a type of metonymy) in which an epithet or other name or phrase is used instead of the proper name or word. for infidelity and idolatry. Sin makes nations miserable (Proverbs 14:34).
2. He presents the effect of sin, which is threefold:
   1. The misery of instability: therefore she has become unstable. This means she no longer stands on her land but was taken captive and has fled into foreign regions. The wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest (Isaiah 57:20).
   2. The shame of confusion: all that honored her—they who blessed her in the time of her prosperity—have despised her, because they have seen her shame of adversity. The ear that heard me blessed me, and the eye that saw me gave witness to me (Job 29:11).
   3. The sadness of the heart: but she sighed and turned backward, away from the prosperity she had enjoyed in God. Let them be turned backward and be ashamed that desire evils to me (Psalms 39:15).