פָּצ֨וּ עָלַ֤יִךְ פִּיהֶם֙ כָּל־א֣וֹיְבַ֔יִךְ שָֽׁרְקוּ֙ וַיַּֽחַרְקוּ־שֵׁ֔ן אָמְר֖וּ בִּלָּ֑עְנוּ אַ֣ךְ זֶ֥ה הַיּ֛וֹם שֶׁקִּוִּינֻ֖הוּ מָצָ֥אנוּ רָאִֽינוּ׃ (ס)
너의 모든 원수는 너를 향하여 입을 벌리며 비소하고 이를 갈며 말하기를 우리가 저를 삼켰도다 우리가 바라던 날이 과연 이 날이라 우리가 얻기도 하고 보기도 하였다 하도다
Tze'enah Ure'enah
“Jeered” [2:16]. All of your enemies opened their mouths at you, Jerusalem, and they jeered. They gnashed their teeth and said: we hoped for this, we found it and we are seeing it. Rashi asks a question. Lamentations is based on the “alphabet,” so why did he write Peh before Ayin? The reason is that they said with their mouths what they did not see with their eyes. “Peh” means mouth and “Ayin” means eye. Therefore, the “Peh” is written before the “Ayin.”19Rashi, Lamentations, 2:16.
Rashi
They opened their mouths wide concerning you. Why did Scripture place the pei39Means ‘mouth’. before the ayin40Means ‘eye’. ? Because they [i.e., the prophets] were saying with their mouths what they did not see with their eyes.