This verb means to cry out with loud, often ritualized wailing—in classical Greek, typically women's cries to gods in worship, exultation, or lamentation. In James 5:1, it takes an ominous tone: 'Come now, you rich, weep and wail for the miseries coming upon you.' The verb suggests not quiet tears but loud, anguished outcry—appropriate to the impending judgment James describes. The command is ironic: begin your mourning now, for catastrophe approaches. The word's intensity captures the severity of judgment awaiting those who oppress the righteous.