Here it is as if Jeremiah gives Jerusalem a breath, because she cannot speak for tears. Jeremiah takes the word, speaking again about Jerusalem. The Lord has made sure that she receives no help from other peoples. They despise her like an unclean woman.
17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.