'Wail' in the Bible

Wail! For the day of the Lord is near.It will come like destruction from the Almighty.

Wail, you gates! Cry out, city!Tremble with fear, all Philistia!For a cloud of dust is coming from the north,and there is no one missing from the invader’s ranks.

Therefore let Moab wail;let every one of them wail for Moab.Mourn, you who are completely devastated,for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

An oracle against Tyre:Wail, ships of Tarshish,for your haven has been destroyed.Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.

Cross over to Tarshish;wail, inhabitants of the coastland!

Wail, ships of Tarshish,because your fortress is destroyed!

So now what have I here”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that My people are taken away for nothing?Its rulers wail”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

Because of this, put on sackcloth;mourn and wail,for the Lord’s burning angerhas not turned away from us.

Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.Because the days of your slaughter have come,you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.

Hear the sound of the shepherds’ cry,the wail of the leaders of the flock,for the Lord is destroying their pasture.

This is what the Lord says:Look, waters are rising from the northand becoming an overflowing wadi.They will overflow the land and everything in it,the cities and their inhabitants.The people will cry out,and every inhabitant of the land will wail.

Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.Wail and cry out!Declare by the Arnonthat Moab is destroyed.

Therefore, I will wail over Moab.I will cry out for Moab, all of it;he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

“How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”

Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated;cry out, daughters of Rabbah!Clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and lament;run back and forth within your walls,because Milcom will go into exiletogether with his priests and officials.

Suddenly Babylon fell and was shattered.Wail for her;get balm for her wound—perhaps she can 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 given over to the sword with My people.Therefore strike your thigh in grief.

“Son of man, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says:Wail: Woe for the day!

“Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and bring Egypt and the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld, to be with those who descend to the Pit:

They do not cry to Me from their hearts;rather, they wail on their beds.They slash themselves for grain and new wine;they turn away from Me.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;wail, all you wine drinkers,because of the sweet wine,for it has been taken from your mouth.

Be ashamed, you farmers,wail, you vinedressers,over the wheat and the barley,because the harvest of the field has perished.

Dress in sackcloth and lament, you priests;wail, you ministers of the altar.Come and spend the night in sackcloth,you ministers of my God,because grain and drink offeringsare withheld from the house of your God.

Therefore Yahweh, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:There will be wailing in all the public squares;they will cry out in anguish in all the streets.The farmer will be called on to mourn,and professional mourners to wail.

Because of this I will lament and wail;I will walk barefoot and naked.I will howl like the jackalsand mourn like ostriches.

Wail, you residents of the Hollow,for all the merchants will be silenced;all those loaded with silver will be cut off.

Wail, cypress, for the cedar has fallen;the glorious trees are destroyed!Wail, oaks of Bashan,for the stately forest has fallen!

Listen to the wail of the shepherds,for their glory is destroyed.Listen to the roar of young lions,for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

“I assure you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

Come now, you rich people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you.