⁴ they wept until they could weep no more.

⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.

¹³ Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.

² Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.

⁴ When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly.

³⁹ When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.

The People Rebel

14 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.

³³ Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!” ³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. ³⁵ His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave^[a] mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.

The People Confess Their Sin

10 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him.