Luke 23:27

23:27 A great number of the people followed him, among them women ¹  who were mourning ²  and wailing for him.

Luke 23:48

23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ³ 

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¹ sn The background of these women is disputed. Are they “official” mourners of Jesus’ death, appointed by custom to mourn death? If so, the mourning here would be more pro forma. However, the text seems to treat the mourning as sincere, so their tears and lamenting would have been genuine.

² tn Or “who were beating their breasts,” implying a ritualized form of mourning employed in Jewish funerals. See the note on the term “women” earlier in this verse.

³ sn Some apparently regretted what had taken place. Beating their breasts was a sign of lamentation.