ἐπʼ ἐμέ, ἐφʼ ἑαυτὰς are brought close together to emphasise the contrast = weep not for me, but for yourselves weep, hinting at the tragedies of Jerusalem's fatal day. At such times the greatest joy, that of motherhood, is turned into the greatest misery (Holtzmann, H. C.). The mothers ever have the worst of it (J. Weiss in Meyer).

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Old Testament