The prophet might mean that when the priests, in the inner court, were offering the sacrifices which the people had brought to the sanctuary, the people in the outer court were simultaneously weeping and groaning. The prophet could also mean that the priests, as representatives of the people, may have been offering these sacrifices with great displays of emotion. It is even possible that both the priests and the people were engaged in this excessive display of grief.
13 And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.