Normally the acrostic was used to aid in memorizing and retaining the content and sequence of some written or oral material, but that will hardly prove to be the reason here.3 How could any Jew ever forget the loss and pain suffered in 587 BC? Rather, the purpose was to make sure that the grounds of the grief and suffering were worked through completely. No facet should be left out; every detail of the human tragedy must be itemized and expressed completely. Eugene H. Peterson has captured this truth