Sackcloth

How Nave’s arranged it

• A symbol of mourning1 Kings 20:311 Kings 20:32Job 16:15Isaiah 15:3Jeremiah 4:8Jeremiah 6:26Jeremiah 49:3Lamentations 2:10Ezekiel 7:18Daniel 9:3Joel 1:8
• Worn by Jacob when it was reported to him that Joseph had been devoured by wild animalsGenesis 37:34
• Animals covered with, at a time of national mourningJonah 3:8
• See Mourning

The passages, in Bible order (13)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 13 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 37:34

   Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 37:341 voice

   “Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins--the common signs of Oriental mourning. A rent is made in the skirt more or less long according to the afflicted feelings of the mourner, and a coarse rough piece of black sackcloth or camel's hair cloth is wound round the waist.

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2. 1 Kings 20:31

   Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 20:312 voices

   “ALTHOUGH the manners and customs of warfare were exceedingly rough and cruel in those primitive ages, yet it appears that the kings of Israel gained a name for being merciful. I do not find recorded in Scripture any particularly merciful acts of theirs and I should conclude that the kings of other countries must have been very ferocious, if the kings of Israel were at all merciful.

   “And ropes upon our heads - “Ropes about our necks” is probably meant. They, as it were, put their lives at Ahab’s disposal, who, if he pleased, might hang them at once.

   Everything gathered on 1 Kings 20:31→

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3. 1 Kings 20:32

   So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 20:322 voices

   “ALTHOUGH the manners and customs of warfare were exceedingly rough and cruel in those primitive ages, yet it appears that the kings of Israel gained a name for being merciful. I do not find recorded in Scripture any particularly merciful acts of theirs and I should conclude that the kings of other countries must have been very ferocious, if the kings of Israel were at all merciful.

   “Their voluntary attitude and language of submission flattered the pride of Ahab, who, little concerned about the dishonor done to the God of Israel by the Syrian king, and thinking of nothing but victory, paraded his clemency, called the vanquished king "his brother," invited him to sit in the royal chariot, and dismissed him with a covenant of peace.

   Everything gathered on 1 Kings 20:32→

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4. Job 16:15

   I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.

   ›Commentary on Job 16:152 voices

   “I have not only put on sackcloth, but sewed it on, as being resolved to continue my humiliation, as long as my affliction continues. Defiled my horn - I have willingly parted with all my wealth, and power, and glory (as the horn often signifies in scripture,) and been content to lie in the dust.

   “I have sewed sackcloth - I have put on the badges of humiliation and grief; see the notes at Isa 3:24. This was the usual emblem of mourning. In order more deeply to express it, or to make it a “permanent” memorial of sorrow, it would seem that it was “sewed” around the body - as we “sew” crape on the hat. And defiled my horn in the dust - The word rendered “defiled” (from עלל ‛âlal) has, according to Gesenius, the notion of “repetition,” derived from the use of the Arabic word.

   Everything gathered on Job 16:15→

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5. Isaiah 15:3

   In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.

   ›Commentary on Isaiah 15:32 voices

   “In their streets they shall girt themselves with sackcloth,.... Instead of their fine clothes, with which they had used to deck themselves, being a very proud people; see Isa 16:6 this was usual in times of distress on any account, as well as a token of mourning for the dead; see Joe 1:

   “In their streets - Publicly. Everywhere there shall be lamentation and grief. Some shall go into the streets, and some on the tops of the houses. They shall gird themselves with sackcloth - The common token of mourning; and also worn usually in times of humiliation and fasting. It was one of the outward acts by which they expressed deep sorrow (Gen 37:34; 2Sa 3:31; 1Ki 21:27; 2Ki 19:1; Job 16:15; the note at Isa 3:24).

   Everything gathered on Isaiah 15:3→

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6. Jeremiah 4:8

   So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”

   ›Commentary on Jeremiah 4:81 voice

   “For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl,.... That is, because of this destruction threatened, which was so near at hand, and so sure and certain: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it "from you" and some render it "from it" (u); from his purpose and design to destroy the Jews.

   Everything gathered on Jeremiah 4:8→

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7. Jeremiah 6:26

   O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

   ›Commentary on Jeremiah 6:261 voice

   “O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth,.... Either as a token of repentance for sin; so the king of Nineveh and his subjects did, to show their repentance, Jon 3:6 or as a sign of mourning, for the calamities coming on them, Gen 37:34. and wallow thyself in ashes; or roll thyself in them, as a token of the same. The Targum is, "cover your heads with ashes.'' Make thee mourning as for an only son; which of all is the most bitter: and therefore it is added, most bitter lamentation; see Zec 12:

   Everything gathered on Jeremiah 6:26→

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8. Jeremiah 49:3

   Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.

   ›Commentary on Jeremiah 49:31 voice

   “Ai - Not the town on the west of the Jordan Jos 7:2; a place not mentioned elsewhere. For Ai some read Ar. Hedges - Fields were not divided by hedges until recent times; the term probably means the walls which enclose the vineyards Num 22:24.

   Everything gathered on Jeremiah 49:3→

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9. Lamentations 2:10

   The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

   ›Commentary on Lamentations 2:102 voices

   “The "elders," by their example, would draw the others to violent grief. the virgins--who usually are so anxious to set off their personal appearances to advantage.

   “The destruction of the miserable is mourned, due to reverence for their status. First, regarding elders who: "sit on the ground in silence." Namely, as signs of great sadness. Like Job 2:13: "And they sat with him on the ground seven days and nights and …

   Everything gathered on Lamentations 2:10→

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10. Ezekiel 7:18

    They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 7:182 voices

    “(Verse 18.) In every face there is confusion, and in every head there is baldness. The reddening of the face is a sign of shame, and the conscience of sins shines forth on the face. The hope of salvation is when shame follows sin. Therefore it was said to her who gloried in her sins with a hard heart: Your face has become like that of a prostitute, you do not know how to blush (Jer. 3:3).

    “Various signs of mourning common in eastern countries. Baldness was forbidden to the Israelites Deu 14:1. They seem, however, in later times to have adopted the custom of foreign nations in this matter, not without permission. Compare Isa 22:12.

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 7:18→

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11. Daniel 9:3

    So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

    ›Commentary on Daniel 9:32 voices

    “Nor is it merely a change of nature, or aversion of perils or obliteration of sins but likewise the recognition of mysteries that fasts will merit from God. Look at Daniel's example.… In the first year of King Darius, when, after careful and repeated meditation on the times predicted by Jeremiah, he set his face to God in fasts and sackcloth and ashes. An angel was sent to him and immediately stated this had been the cause of the divine honor; he said, "I came to show you, wretched as you are," namely, because he had been fasting.

    “And I set my face unto the Lord God - Probably the meaning is, that he turned his face toward Jerusalem, the place where God had dwelt; the place of his holy abode on earth. See the notes at Dan 6:10. The language, however, would not be inappropriate to denote prayer without such a supposition. We turn to one whom we address, and so prayer may be described by “setting the face toward God.” The essential idea here is, that he engaged in a set and formal prayer; he engaged in earnest devotion.

    Everything gathered on Daniel 9:3→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Joel 1:8

    Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth.

    ›Commentary on Joel 1:81 voice

    “Lament like a virgin - for the husband of her youth - Virgin is a very improper version here. The original is בתולה bethulah, which signifies a young woman or bride not a virgin, the proper Hebrew for which is עלמה almah. See the notes on Isa 7:14 (note), and Mat 1:23 (note).

    Everything gathered on Joel 1:8→

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13. Jonah 3:8

    Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands.

    ›Commentary on Jonah 3:82 voices

    “And beast - Their horses and camels, both which they adorned with rich and costly clothing, they must now in testimony of an hearty repentance, clothe with sackcloth; the clothing of beasts must witness for men. The violence - Oppression and rapine. In their hands - Which are practiced by them.

    “Let man and beast be covered - This was done that every object which they beheld might deepen the impression already made, and cause them to mourn after a godly sort. Virgil tells us that the mourning for the death of Julius Caesar was so general, that the cattle neither ate nor drank: - Non ulli pastos illis egere diebus Frigida, Daphni, boves ad flumina: nulla neque amnem Libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam. Ecl. 5:24. “The swains forgot their sheep, nor near the brink Of running waters brought their herds to drink.

    Everything gathered on Jonah 3:8→

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