Lament

A song of mourning or sorrow. Laments may be occasioned by bereavement, personal trouble, national disaster or the judgment of God.

Lamentation occasioned by bereavement

2 Samuel 3:33–34 See also Genesis 50:10; Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16–18, Matthew 9:23 parallels Mark 5:38, Luke 8:52; Luke 23:27; John 11:31–33

And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. As a man falls before the wicked, so also you fell.” And all the people wept over him even more.

Lamentation occasioned by personal trouble

Psalm 56:2, Psalm 56:8, Psalm 102:1–2

Lamentation occasioned by national disaster

2 Chronicles 35:25 See also 2 Samuel 1:17–27; Esther 4:1, Esther 9:31; Jeremiah 8:21–9:1

Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.

Lamentation occasioned by the judgment of God on Israel

Amos 5:1–2 The call to lament is sometimes meant as a warning of impending judgment; Lamentations 1:1 The book of Lamentations is a series of laments after the fall of Jerusalem. See also Isaiah 3:24–26, Isaiah 29:1–2; Jeremiah 4:7–8, Jeremiah 7:29, Jeremiah 9:10, Jeremiah 9:17–21; Lamentations 2:5; Ezekiel 2:9–10, Ezekiel 19:1–14

Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you: “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.”

How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.

Lamentation occasioned by the judgment of God on other nations

Isaiah 16:9–11 See also Isaiah 15:5, Isaiah 15:8, Isaiah 16:7, Isaiah 19:8; Jeremiah 48:36; Ezekiel 26:17–18, Ezekiel 27:2–36, Ezekiel 28:12–19, Ezekiel 30:2–4, Ezekiel 32:2–16

So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest. Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering. Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir-heres.

Lamentation as a sign of repentance

Lamentations 1:5, Lamentations 1:8, Lamentations 3:39–40; Ezekiel 9:3–6