'Wail' in the Bible

And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead];And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.

Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!It will come as destruction from the Almighty (All Sufficient One—Invincible God)!

Therefore Moab will wail for Moab; everyone will wail.You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,As those who are utterly stricken and discouraged.

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Tyre:Wail, O ships of Tarshish,For Tyre is destroyed, without house, without harbor;It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus (Kittim).

Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles];Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre].

“Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,But you will cry out with a heavy heart,And you shall wail and howl from a broken spirit.

“For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning],Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail,For the fierce anger of the LordHas not turned back from us.”

“Wail, you shepherds, and cry;And roll in ashes, you masters of the flock.For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions have come in full,And you will fall and be broken into pieces like a choice vessel.

Thus says the Lord:“Behold, waters are going to rise out of the north (Babylonia)And become an overflowing streamAnd overflow the land and all that is in it,The city and those who live in it.Then the people will cry out,And all the inhabitants of the land [of Philistia] will wail.

“Moab is shamed, for she has been broken down and shattered.Wail and cry out!Tell by [the banks of] the ArnonThat Moab has been destroyed.

“Therefore I will wail over Moab,And I will cry out for all Moab.I will sigh and mourn over the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth).

“How it is broken down! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab will become a laughingstock and a [horrifying] terror to all who are around him.”

“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai [in Ammon] has been destroyed!Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!Wrap yourselves with sackcloth and lament (cry out in grief),And rush back and forth inside the enclosures;For Malcam [your powerless god] will go into exileTogether with his priests and his princes.

Babylon has suddenly fallen and is shattered!Wail for her [if you care to]!Get balm for her [incurable] pain;Perhaps she may be healed.

Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with My [terrified] people. Therefore strike your thigh and strike your chest [in grief].

“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

“Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and cast them down, both her and the daughters of the powerful and majestic nations, to the nether world (the place of the dead), with those who go down to the pit;

They do not cry out to Me from their heartWhen they wail on their beds [in unbelieving despair];For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves [as if worshiping Baal];They rebel against Me.

Awake [from your intoxication], you drunkards, and weep;Wail, all you drinkers of wine,Because of the [fresh] sweet wineThat is cut off from your mouth.

Be ashamed, O farmers;Wail, O vinedressers,For the wheat and for the barley,Because the harvest of the field has perished.

Clothe yourselves with sackclothAnd lament (cry out in grief), O priests;Wail, O ministers of the altar!Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing],O ministers of my God,For the grain offering and the drink offeringAre withheld from the house of your God.

Because of this I [Micah] must lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) and wail,I must go barefoot and naked [without outer garments as if robbed];I must wail like the jackalsAnd lament [with a loud, mournful cry] like the ostriches.

“On that day they shall take up a [taunting, deriding] parable against youAnd wail with a doleful and bitter song of mourning and say,‘We are completely destroyed!God exchanges the inheritance of my people;How He removes it from me!He divides our fields to the rebellious [our captors].’

“Wail [in anguish], you inhabitants of the Mortar (Valley of Siloam),For all the merchants of Canaan will be silenced and destroyed;All who weigh out silver will be cut off.

Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,Because the magnificent trees have been destroyed;Wail, O oaks of Bashan,For the inaccessible forest [on the steep mountainside] has come down.

Woe to you who are well-fed (gorged, satiated) now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now [enjoying a life of self-indulgence], for you will mourn and weep [and deeply long for God].