Lamentations 2:10

Hebrew Bible

8 ח (Khet) The Lord was determined to tear down Daughter Zion’s wall. He prepared to knock it down; he did not withdraw his hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament; together they mourned their ruin. 9 ט (Tet) Her city gates have fallen to the ground; he smashed to bits the bars that lock her gates. Her king and princes were taken into exile; there is no more guidance available. As for her prophets, they no longer receive a vision from the Lord. 10 י (Yod) The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dirt on their heads; they have dressed in sackcloth. Jerusalem’s young women stare down at the ground. 11 כ (Kaf) My eyes are worn out from weeping; my stomach is in knots. My heart is poured out on the ground due to the destruction of my helpless people; children and infants faint in the town squares. 12 ל (Lamed) Children say to their mothers, “Where are food and drink?” They faint like a wounded warrior in the city squares. They die slowly in their mothers’ arms.

Isaiah 52:2

Hebrew Bible

1 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city. For uncircumcised and unclean pagans will no longer invade you. 2 Shake off the dirt! Get up, captive Jerusalem. Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion. 3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you will not be redeemed for money.” 4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

 Notes and References

"... This verse alludes heavily to the lectionary texts of the Tisha b’Av cycle. Isaiah 52:2 states, “Shake yourself free from dust! Rise! Sit! Jerusalem.” The epithet “daughter Zion” appears eight times in the Tisha b’Av lectionary cycle: Isaiah 52:2; Lamentations 2:1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 18; 4:22. The piyyut verse is a direct reversal of Lamentations 2:10 (“Sit on the ground and be silent, elders of Daughter Zion. Raise dust upon your heads ...”) ..."

Stern, Elsie From Rebuke to Consolation: Exegesis and Theology in the Liturgical Anthology of the Ninth Av Season (pp. 17-77) Brown Judaic Studies, 2020

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