The Israelites regretted what had happened to ¹  their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire ²  tribe from Israel!

All the land was weeping loudly ¹  as all these people were leaving. ²  As the king was crossing over the Kidron Valley, all the people were leaving ³  on the road that leads to the desert.

So the victory of that day was turned to mourning as far as all the people were concerned. For the people heard on that day, “The king is grieved over his son.”

He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they ¹  mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!”

Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?”

Ahab’s entire family will die. I ¹  will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. ² 

Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah which all the male and female singers use to mourn Josiah to this very day. It has become customary in Israel to sing these; they are recorded in the Book of Laments.

Then Mordecai again sat at the king’s gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head.

“I ¹  am weary ²  of my life; I will complain without restraint; ³  I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

For my life nears its end in pain; my years draw to a close as I groan. ¹  My strength fails me because of ²  my sin, and my bones become brittle. ³ 

When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ¹  and refrained from eating food. ²  (If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ³ 

I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. ¹  I bowed down ²  in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. ³ 

Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, ¹  or like vinegar poured on soda, ²  so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. ³ 

The earth ¹  dries up ²  and withers, the world shrivels up and withers; the prominent people of the earth ³  fade away.

I have seen their behavior, ¹  but I will heal them and give them rest, and I will once again console those who mourn. ² 

to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, ¹  to console all who mourn,

Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. ¹ 

As they wail they will lament over you, chanting: “Who was like Tyre, like a tower ¹  in the midst of the sea?”

Realize ¹  that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. ²  They hear your words, but they do not obey them. ³ 

Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. ¹  The wild animals, ²  the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.