a.lah is used as an imperative calling for wailing in grief, pictured through a virgin in sackcloth for her youthful husband.

The attested use is a direct command for grief-filled wailing: Joel 1:8 addresses a feminine singular hearer and compares the response to a virgin in sackcloth mourning her husband of youth.

1. Command to wail in mourning · dominant

   In Joel 1:8, the Qal imperative feminine singular form directly addresses a woman-like figure and calls for wailing in the comparison with a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. The APB renders the verse, "Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth."

   Joel 1:8

In the Anselm Project Bible: In Joel 1:8 the APB presents the clause with "Wail"; This is confirmation of the verse's imperative mourning scene rather than a precise lexical alignment.