³ sn Along with putting dirt on one’s head, wearing sackcloth was a sign of mourning.

² tn The adjective אֲבֵּלּוֹת (ʾavelot, “mourning”) functions as a predicate of state.

³ tn Heb “I go about in black [i.e., mourning clothes]. Dismay has seized me.”

⁴ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

⁴ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

⁴ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.

² sn I bowed down. Bowing down was a posture for mourning. See Ps 38:6.

³ tn Heb “like mourning for a mother [in] sorrow I bowed down.”

² tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”

³ sn Seventy days. This probably refers to a time of national mourning.

² sn Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves. Judgment now comes on the nation (see Luke 19:41-44) for this judgment of Jesus. Ironically, they mourn the wrong person—they should be mourning for themselves.

³ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

¹ sn The simile compares doves that flee their valley home for the mountains, where they coo in mournful discomfort. For doves moaning or mourning see Isa 38:14; 59:11; Ezek 7:16 and Nah 2:7.

² tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.

² tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.

² tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.

² tn The word אָבַל (ʾaval) is rare, used mostly for mourning over deaths, but it is used here of mourning over bad news (see also Exod 33:4; 1 Sam 15:35; 16:1; etc.).

² tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.

³ tn The verb κλαίω (klaiō) denotes the loud wailing or lamenting typical of 1st century Jewish mourning.

³ tn Or “wallow.” The verb פָּלַשׁ (palash, “roll about [in dust])” refers to a cultural behavior associated with mourning.