Ezekiel 36:17
15 I will no longer subject you to the nations’ insults; no longer will you bear the shame of the peoples, and no longer will you bereave your nation, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” 16 The Lord’s message came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period. 18 So I poured my anger on them because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries. In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them.
Lamentations 1:9
7 ז (Zayin) Jerusalem remembers, when she became a poor homeless person, all her treasures that she owned in days of old. When her people fell into an enemy’s grip, none of her allies came to her rescue. Her enemies gloated over her; they sneered at her downfall. 8 ח (Khet) Jerusalem committed terrible sin; therefore she became an object of scorn. All who admired her have despised her because they have seen her nakedness. She groans aloud and turns away in shame. 9 ט (Tet) Her menstrual flow has soiled her clothing; she did not consider the consequences of her sin. Her demise was astonishing, and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look, O Lord, on my affliction because my enemy boasts!” 10 י (Yod) An enemy grabbed all her valuables. Indeed she watched in horror as Gentiles invaded her holy temple—those whom you had commanded: “They must not enter your assembly place.” 11 כ (Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive. “Look, O Lord! Consider that I have become worthless!”
Notes and References
"... For Judeans in the Benjaminite region, the challenge to associate Jacob with Zion (verse 17) posed a serious dilemma. On the one hand, the fallen city and its people were defeated, disgraced, and defiled. Bloodshed, disease, and death—resulting from the people’s own sin (verses 14, 18, 20)—rendered the holy precincts of Zion ritually impure. (See Ezekiel 36:17. As Dobbs-Allsopp points out, the insistence on the city’s guilt is particularly strong in Lamentations compared to other ancient Near Eastern city-laments that typically attribute the fall of a city to the sometimes capricious act of the gods) According to the same theological principle, the relative good fortune of northern Judeans under Babylonian rule was probably interpreted by some as a sign of divine favor. Therefore, those most likely to identify themselves as “Jacob” had the most to lose in terms of social status if they demonstrated solidarity with the survivors of Zion, as Lamentations 1:17 suggests that they should ..."
Wilkins, Lauress L. The Book of Lamentations and the Social World of Judah in the Neo-Babylonian Era (p. 55) Gorgias Press, 2010