Weeping (2799) (klaio) (All NT and Lxx uses of klaio below) means to mourn, to weep, to lament or to wail with emphasis upon noise accompanying weeping. It expresses one’s immediate and outward reaction to suffering. The picture is of one lamenting with sobs or wailing aloud and was used to describe the wailing that took place when someone died. Weeping thus was a sign of the pain and grief for the entity or person being wept over (See all verses below and note who wept and over what/who?) Klaio implies not only the shedding of tears, but also external expression of grief. It was a term frequently used to describe the actions of professional mourners. NIDNTT writes that in classical Greek klaio is... found from Homer onwards (and ) means intransitively to cry aloud, weep; transitively to bewail. In secular Greek. klaio does not express remorse or sorrow, but physical or mental pain which is outwardly visible. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) In the present context these ungodly men with "belly god's" brought tears to Paul's eyes and grief to his bosom because of the damage they brought to Christ's fame, name and kingdom. Warren Wiersbe has an interesting note writing... How strange in a letter filled with joy to find Paul weeping! Perhaps he is weeping over himself and his difficult situation! No, he is a man with a single mind, and his circumstances do not discourage him. Is he weeping because of what some of the Roman Christians are doing to him? No, he has the submissive mind and will not permit people to rob him of his joy. These tears are not for himself at all; they are shed because of others. Because Paul has the spiritual mind, he is heartbroken over the way some professed Christians are living, people who “mind earthly things.” (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/philippians_317-21.htm#weeping