Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate.
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. | Luke 23:34
And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me. | Mark 5:7
And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? | Matthew 8:29
As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. | Isaiah 37:1
And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground. | Isaiah 3:26
As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. | Ezra 9:3
And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. | Job 2:12
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. | Isaiah 59:1-2
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, | Acts 14:14
David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. | 2 Samuel 12:16
From it too you will come away with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper by them. | Jeremiah 2:37
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.| 1 Peter 3:18
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. | Romans 10:13
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. | 2 Corinthians 7:10
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Romans 6:23
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. | 1 Peter
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. | Revelation 21:4
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. | Matthew 12:36-37
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. | Psalm 116:15
Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? | Amos 8:8
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. | Esther 6:12
The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! | 2 Samuel 19:4
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, | Luke 4:18
Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, “God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down! | 2 Samuel 3:35
You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. | Leviticus 19:28
If you follow a religious tradition, embrace the comfort its mourning rituals can provide. Spiritual activities that are meaningful to you—such as praying, meditating, or going to church—can offer solace.