'My Lord' — a plural-form title of address (literally 'my lords,' the so-called plural of majesty) used for God distinct from the personal name YHVH, rendered in this translation as 'the Lord.' Jewish tradition reads it ALOUD wherever the written text has YHVH, out of reverence for pronouncing the name itself — the origin of English 'LORD' in small capitals in most Bibles wherever the Hebrew has the divine name. Lamentations 3 switches from YHVH to Adonai for nine straight verses (31–39), right at the chapter's theological turn, before the personal name returns at v40's call to return. → first discussed at Lamentations 3:31