Sorrows
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In the biblical context, "sorrows" often refers to deep distress, grief, or suffering experienced by individuals or groups. The concept of sorrow is woven throughout the Scriptures, reflecting the human condition in a fallen world and the hope of redemption through God's intervention.

Old Testament References

The Old Testament frequently addresses the theme of sorrow, often in the context of sin, judgment, and the human experience of suffering. In Genesis 3:16, after the fall of man, God tells Eve, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children." This verse introduces sorrow as a consequence of sin, affecting not only Eve but all of humanity.

The Psalms are replete with expressions of sorrow, as the psalmists often cry out to God in times of distress. Psalm 31:9-10 states, "Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well. For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away." Here, sorrow is linked with personal sin and the resulting physical and emotional anguish.

The prophetic books also speak of sorrow, particularly in relation to Israel's disobedience and the resulting divine judgment. Isaiah 53:3 describes the coming Messiah as "a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief," highlighting the suffering servant motif and foreshadowing the redemptive work of Christ.

New Testament References

In the New Testament, sorrow continues to be a significant theme, particularly in the context of Christ's passion and the trials faced by His followers. Jesus Himself experienced deep sorrow, as seen in Matthew 26:37-38 , where He tells His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, "My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me." This moment underscores the weight of the impending crucifixion and the burden of humanity's sin.

The Apostle Paul also addresses sorrow in his epistles, often in the context of the Christian life and the hope found in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 7:10 , Paul writes, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Here, Paul distinguishes between sorrow that leads to spiritual growth and repentance and sorrow that results in despair.

Theological Implications

From a theological perspective, sorrow is both a consequence of the fall and a catalyst for spiritual growth. It serves as a reminder of the brokenness of the world and the need for divine intervention. The Bible presents sorrow as an opportunity for believers to draw closer to God, relying on His comfort and strength.

The ultimate resolution of sorrow is found in the eschatological hope of the new creation. Revelation 21:4 promises, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away." This future hope provides comfort and assurance to believers, affirming that sorrow is temporary and will ultimately be overcome by God's eternal kingdom.
Greek
3077. lupe -- pain of body or mind, grief, sorrow
... word Definition pain of body or mind, grief, sorrow NASB Word Usage grief (2),
grudgingly* (1), pain (1), sorrow (10), sorrowful (1), sorrows (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3077.htm - 6k
Strong's Hebrew
4341. makob -- pain
... Word Origin from kaab Definition pain NASB Word Usage pain (10), painful (1),
sorrow (1), sorrows (3), sufferings (1). grief, pain, sorrow. ...
/hebrew/4341.htm - 6k

6094. atstsebeth -- a hurt, injury, pain
... Word Origin from atsab Definition a hurt, injury, pain NASB Word Usage pains (1),
sad (1), sorrows (1), trouble (1), wounds (1). sorrow, wound. ...
/hebrew/6094.htm - 6k

57. abel -- mourning
... mourning. Word Origin from abal Definition mourning NASB Word Usage mourn (2),
mourners (2), mourning (3), one who sorrows (1). mourner,. ...
/hebrew/57.htm - 6k

Library

"Man of Sorrows, Wrapt in Grief"
... No. 19 "Man of Sorrows, wrapt in grief". LENT AND PASSIONTIDE "Man of Sorrows, wrapt
in grief". M. Bridges From a Slovak Hymnal Arr. by NAM. Andante Mod. ...
/.../various/the st gregory hymnal and catholic choir book/no 19 man of sorrows.htm

Comfort under Sorrows and Pains.
... Hymns. Book 2. Composed on Divine Subjects. Hymn 2:50. Comfort under sorrows and
pains. ... But O it swells my sorrows high To see my blessed Jesus frown! ...
/.../watts/hymns and spiritual songs/hymn 2 50 comfort under sorrows.htm

India's Ills and England's Sorrows
... India's Ills and England's Sorrows. A Sermon (No.150). Delivered on Sabbath
Morning, September 6, 1857, by the. REV. CH SPURGEON. at ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 3 1857/indias ills and englands sorrows.htm

The Peaceable Fruits of Sorrows Rightly Borne
... THE BOOK OF JOB THE PEACEABLE FRUITS OF SORROWS RIGHTLY BORNE. ... He bases upon all
that he has been saying the exhortation to Job to be thankful for his sorrows. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the peaceable fruits of sorrows.htm

National Sorrows and National Lessons
... SERMON XXXIV. NATIONAL SORROWS AND NATIONAL LESSONS. On the illness or the Prince
of Wales. Chapel Royal, St James's, December 17th, 1871. 2 Samuel 19:14. ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon xxxiv national sorrows and.htm

Comfort under Sorrows and Pains.
... Hymns, Book II HYMN 50 Comfort under sorrows and pains. LM Comfort under
sorrows and pains. Now let the Lord my Savior smile,. ...
/.../watts/the psalms and hymns of isaac watts/hymn 50 comfort under sorrows.htm

The Gladness of the Man of Sorrows
... The Gladness of the Man of Sorrows. A Sermon (No.498). Delivered on Sunday
Morning, March 8th, 1863, by the. Rev. CH SPURGEON,. At the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 9 1863/the gladness of the man.htm

What a Sea of Tears and Sorrows
... No. 146 What a Sea of Tears and Sorrows. OUR MOTHER OF SORROWS Passiontide and BVM
What a Sea of Tears and Sorrows O quot undis lacrymarum. Tr. by Rev. ...
/.../various/the st gregory hymnal and catholic choir book/no 146 what a sea.htm

Look we Then, Beloved, what Hardships in Labors and Sorrows Men ...
... 3. Look we then, beloved, what hardships in labors and sorrows men endure?
3. Look we then, beloved, what hardships in labors ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/on patience /3 look we then beloved.htm

O Feeble Ones, Why Weep Ye, Over Your Dead: who in Death are at ...
... Hymn LXIV. O feeble ones, why weep ye, over your dead: who in death are
at rest from sorrows and sins?"2. 1. O feeble ones, why ...
/.../ephraim/hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/hymn lxiv o feeble ones.htm

Thesaurus
Sorrows (37 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Sorrows (37 Occurrences). Matthew 24:8 All these
are the beginning of sorrows. (KJV WBS YLT). Mark 13:8 ...
/s/sorrows.htm - 17k

Pangs (26 Occurrences)
... Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. (See RSV). ... Pangs and sorrows will seize them. ...
/p/pangs.htm - 13k

Grieve (29 Occurrences)
... weak (chalah), and be as another man"); Isaiah 17:11 the King James Version, "a
heap in the day of grief"; Isaiah 53:3, 1, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted ...
/g/grieve.htm - 23k

Pains (59 Occurrences)
... I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and have heard
their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; (See JPS ...
/p/pains.htm - 23k

Compassed (52 Occurrences)
... WBS YLT NAS RSV). 2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about;
the snares of death prevented me; (KJV WBS). 1 Kings 7:15 ...
/c/compassed.htm - 22k

Travail (54 Occurrences)
... of journeying (in the King James Version the spellings "travel" and "travail" were
used indiscriminately; compare Sirach 19:11; 31:5). The sorrows which are ...
/t/travail.htm - 26k

Grip (32 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 13:8 Their hearts will be full of fear; pains and sorrows will overcome them;
they will be in pain like a woman in childbirth; they will be shocked at ...
/g/grip.htm - 16k

Grief (252 Occurrences)
... weak (chalah), and be as another man"); Isaiah 17:11 the King James Version, "a
heap in the day of grief"; Isaiah 53:3, 1, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted ...
/g/grief.htm - 45k

Pain (172 Occurrences)
... Phinehas (1 Samuel 4:19), but the same word tsir is used figuratively in Isaiah
13:8; Isaiah 21:3 Daniel 10:16, and translated "pangs" or "sorrows." In other ...
/p/pain.htm - 43k

Griefs (7 Occurrences)
... evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. (See NAS NIV). ...
/g/griefs.htm - 8k

Resources
Why is Jesus referred to as a man of sorrows in Isaiah 53:3? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about sadness? | GotQuestions.org

Is Isaiah 53 'The Suffering Servant' a prophecy about Jesus? | GotQuestions.org

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Sorrows (37 Occurrences)

Matthew 24:8
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
(KJV WBS YLT)

Mark 13:8
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
(KJV WBS YLT)

Acts 7:34
Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt.
(BBE)

Colossians 1:24
Now I have joy in my pain because of you, and in my flesh I undergo whatever is still needed to make the sorrows of Christ complete, for the salvation of his body, the church;
(BBE)

2 Thessalonians 1:4
So that we ourselves take pride in you in the churches of God for your untroubled mind and your faith in all the troubles and sorrows which you are going through;
(BBE)

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT)

James 5:1
Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you.
(WEY)

1 Peter 2:19
for this 'is' gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;
(YLT NAS)

Revelation 1:9
I John, your brother, and a sharer with you in the sorrows and Kingship and patient endurance of Jesus, found myself in the island of Patmos, on account of the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus.
(WEY)

Exodus 3:7
Yahweh said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS)

Exodus 3:17
And I have said, I will take you up out of the sorrows of Egypt into the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
(BBE)

Judges 10:16
So they put away the strange gods from among them, and became the Lord's servants; and his soul was angry because of the sorrows of Israel.
(BBE)

1 Samuel 10:19
But today you are turned away from your God, who himself has been your saviour from all your troubles and sorrows; and you have said to him, Put a king over us. So now, take your places before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 22:6
The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
(KJV WBS)

Job 9:28
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that you will not hold me innocent.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS)

Job 21:17
"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, that their calamity comes on them, that God distributes sorrows in his anger?
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS)

Job 39:3
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
(KJV WBS)

Psalms 16:4
Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 18:4
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
(KJV WBS)

Psalms 18:5
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
(KJV WBS)

Psalms 25:17
The troubles of my heart are increased: O take me out of my sorrows.
(BBE)

Psalms 31:7
I will be glad and have delight in your mercy; because you have seen my trouble; you have had pity on my soul in its sorrows;
(BBE)

Psalms 32:10
Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS)

Psalms 35:14
I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
(See NAS)

Psalms 116:3
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
(KJV WBS)

Psalms 127:2
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
(KJV DBY WBS)

Psalms 142:2
I put all my sorrows before him; and made clear to him all my trouble.
(BBE)

Ecclesiastes 2:23
For all his days are sorrows, and his travail is grief; yes, even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Isaiah 13:8
They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS)

Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
(KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 53:4
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
(KJV ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 54:4
Have no fear; for you will not be shamed or without hope: you will not be put to shame, for the shame of your earlier days will go out of your memory, and you will no longer keep in mind the sorrows of your widowed years.
(BBE)

Jeremiah 13:21
What will you say, when he shall set over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? shall not sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS)

Jeremiah 49:24
Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS RSV)

Ezekiel 24:12
With' sorrows she hath wearied herself, And the abundance of her scum goeth not out of her, In the fire 'is' her scum.
(YLT)

Daniel 10:16
Behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spoke and said to him who stood before me, my lord, by reason of the vision my sorrows are turned on me, and I retain no strength.
(WEB KJV ASV WBS)

Hosea 13:13
The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son; for when it is time, he doesn't come to the opening of the womb.
(WEB KJV ASV WBS)

Subtopics

Sorrows

Related Terms

Sorrowful (29 Occurrences)

Godly (50 Occurrences)

Intended (38 Occurrences)

Reformation (24 Occurrences)

Exceedingly (167 Occurrences)

Exceeding (101 Occurrences)

Repent (74 Occurrences)

Felt (40 Occurrences)

Sorrow (277 Occurrences)

Suffered (88 Occurrences)

Rejoice (259 Occurrences)

Loss (90 Occurrences)

Happy (143 Occurrences)

Point (106 Occurrences)

Very (3073 Occurrences)

Oath's (2 Occurrences)

Wrongly (15 Occurrences)

Though (623 Occurrences)

Regret (17 Occurrences)

Distressed (70 Occurrences)

Deeply (43 Occurrences)

Maketh (399 Occurrences)

Caused (468 Occurrences)

Afterwards (143 Occurrences)

Sorrowed (3 Occurrences)

Damage (57 Occurrences)

Meat (387 Occurrences)

Grief (252 Occurrences)

Perceive (53 Occurrences)

Grieved (87 Occurrences)

Letter (112 Occurrences)

Sort (143 Occurrences)

Wrong (391 Occurrences)

Season (101 Occurrences)

Suffer (195 Occurrences)

Repentance (28 Occurrences)

Lot (145 Occurrences)

Harmed (7 Occurrences)

Sorrows (37 Occurrences)

Makes (483 Occurrences)

Vengeance (63 Occurrences)

Zeal (45 Occurrences)

Kill (310 Occurrences)

Nevertheless (153 Occurrences)

Notorious (16 Occurrences)

Unwilling (30 Occurrences)

Observing (28 Occurrences)

Oaths (49 Occurrences)

Longing (40 Occurrences)

League (20 Occurrences)

Guiltless (29 Occurrences)

Grace (277 Occurrences)

Glad (421 Occurrences)

Guests (43 Occurrences)

Wish (141 Occurrences)

Worked (145 Occurrences)

Intensely (9 Occurrences)

Indignation (56 Occurrences)

Incited (10 Occurrences)

Figure (19 Occurrences)

Fellow-servants (4 Occurrences)

Fasting (34 Occurrences)

Fellowservants (4 Occurrences)

Filled (336 Occurrences)

Third (192 Occurrences)

Tax-gatherers (16 Occurrences)

Raised (267 Occurrences)

Reprove (35 Occurrences)

Reject (56 Occurrences)

Refuse (103 Occurrences)

Ritual (3 Occurrences)

Reported (104 Occurrences)

Repentant (3 Occurrences)

Especially (23 Occurrences)

Example (54 Occurrences)

Defense (49 Occurrences)

Defence (48 Occurrences)

Dinner (23 Occurrences)

Displeasure (12 Occurrences)

Sorrowing
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