This interjection expresses grief or distress, equivalent to 'alas' or 'woe.' Amos 5:16 describes future mourning when the Lord passes through Israel in judgment: 'In all the streets they shall say, Alas! Alas!' The doubled form intensifies the cry of lamentation. This is the sound of public mourning, the corporate wail that fills the streets when disaster strikes. The interjection gives voice to raw grief, the spontaneous cry when sorrow overwhelms words.