Jeremiah 31:9-10

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance.

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble.

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim is my firstborn son.’”

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

Ezra 3:12-13

3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established – were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 3:13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off.

Psalms 126:4-6

126:4 O Lord, restore our well-being,

just as the streams in the arid south are replenished.

126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant

will shout for joy when they reap the harvest.

126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed,

will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain.

Joel 2:12

An Appeal for Repentance

2:12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,

“return to me with all your heart –

with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Tear your hearts,

not just your garments!”

Zechariah 12:10

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn.

James 4:9

4:9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.