As the Babylonian forces carry off the cult statue, they are followed by the slave girls who probably served in the temple, and they beat their breasts and lament the fall of their goddess. Their lamenting is compared to the sound of doves which may seem strange to modern readers, but separate language groups perceive and express animal sounds differently.1 In this case the sound of doves is used to describe distress and sadness.
7 its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts.