Aleph
“How Yahweh,
In his anger,
Has humiliated
Daughter Zion!
He has thrown down
From heaven
To earth
The splendor of Israel.
He has not remembered
His footstool
In the day
Of his anger.”
The anger of Yahweh is the theme of this second lamentation. Yahweh has humiliated his favorite daughter Zion. The splendor of Israel has been cast aside from heaven to earth. Yahweh even forgot his footstool, the Temple, because he was so angry. This first verse starts with the Hebrew consonant letter Aleph. Each verse after this will use the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet in this acrostic poem.
