The Hebrew word eyk is an interrogative adverb meaning 'how?' or an exclamation of grief meaning 'alas!' or 'how terrible!' It expresses bewilderment, lamentation, or incredulous questioning. The word is closely related to eykah (H351) and appears in the great laments of Scripture.
Eyk and its related form eykah open the book of Lamentations, where the prophet cries out in anguish over the destruction of Jerusalem: 'How deserted lies the city!' This use marks it as a word of profound theological sorrow — the disbelief of God's people that the city of God could fall. In Deuteronomy and the prophets, eyk signals the reversal of divine blessing, a mourning over what should not have been. It is the sound of grief when covenant promises seem undone.