1. Lamentations 1:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the meaning of the expression “Her uncleanness was in her skirts”?

Lamentations 1:9 (ESV)

9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!”

The symbolic language of filth[iness] and nakedness (Lamentations 1:8) continues. This expression indicates a woman’s impurity caused by menstrual blood or uncleanness caused by idolatry and violence (see also Jeremiah 2:22–23,Jeremiah 2:34; Lamentations 4:13–14).1 The impurity clung to her, she cannot get rid of it, and it is out in the open for all to see.2 This expression reiterates the seriousness of Jerusalem’s sin.