Jeremiah 6:26
in Jeremiah 6O 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.
KJV
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
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This verse in Jeremiah 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseO 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:
This site's exposition
an army is coming from the land of the north
on Jeremiah 6:22-26
The invader from the north named at 1:14 and 4:6 is given a face, “cruel and merciless”, riding “against you, O Daughter of Zion”. The report breaks the city's nerve, “our hands hang limp”. Mourning “as you would for an only son” was the sharpest grief the culture knew.
This site's exposition
dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes
Gill notes sackcloth served as a sign of repentance, as at Nineveh in Jonah 3:6, and as a sign of mourning, as in Genesis 37:34. The Targum reads cover your heads with ashes. The destroyer comes suddenly.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 26) Daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ashes, mourn for the only begotten (or beloved), make for yourself a bitter lament (or miserable), because the devastator (or misery) will come suddenly upon us (or upon you). For he had said before: Do not go out to the fields and do not walk along the road, for the sword of the enemy, panic is all around; and he had also forbidden flight, he teaches what they should do, namely, to repent, and to have this most firm and secure armor.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Though he has not come yet, he is coming, the decree has gone forth: let us therefore meet the execution of it with a suitable sadness." As saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they see them only in the promise, so sinners must mourn for fear of God's judgments, though they see them only in the threatenings.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
An account of those sins of Judah and Jerusalem which provoked God to bring this desolating judgment upon them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
wallow . . . in ashes-- (Jer 25:34; As they usually in mourning only "cast ashes on the head," wallowing in them means something more, namely, so entirely to cover one's self with ashes as to be like one who had rolled in them (Eze 27:30). as for an only son-- (Am 8:10;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Wallow thyself in ashes - Violent distress is accustomed to find relief in eccentric actions, and thus the wallowing in ashes shows that Jerusalem’s grief is unbearable. The spoiler - Nebuchadnezzar.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּת־ | bat- | O daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| עַמִּ֤י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| חִגְרִי־ | chigri- | gird yourself | H2296 → | 44 times |
| שָׂק֙ | sak | sackcloth | H8242 → | 49 times |
| וְהִתְפַּלְּשִׁ֣י | vehitpaleshi | and roll | H6428 → | |
| בָאֵ֔פֶר | vaefer | in <the> ash[es] | H665 → | |
| אֵ֤בֶל | ʾevel | [the] mourning of | H60 → | 24 times |
| יָחִיד֙ | yachid | an only [child] | H3173 → | |
| עֲשִׂ֣י | ʾasi | observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | for <the> yourself | ||
| מִסְפַּ֖ד | mispad | wailing of | H4553 → | |
| תַּמְרוּרִ֑ים | tamrurim | bitterness<es> | H8563 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פִתְאֹ֔ם | fitom | suddenly | H6597 → | 25 times |
| יָבֹ֥א | yavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַשֹּׁדֵ֖ד | hashoded | the destroyer | H7703 → | 57 times |
| עָלֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
בַּת־O daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
עַמִּ֤יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
חִגְרִי־gird yourself
chigri-H2296 →44 times
שָׂק֙sackcloth
sakH8242 →49 times
וְהִתְפַּלְּשִׁ֣יand roll
vehitpaleshiH6428 →
בָאֵ֔פֶרin <the> ash[es]
vaeferH665 →
אֵ֤בֶל[the] mourning of
ʾevelH60 →24 times
יָחִיד֙an only [child]
yachidH3173 →
עֲשִׂ֣יobserve
ʾasiH6213 →2628 times
לָ֔ךְfor <the> yourself
lakh
מִסְפַּ֖דwailing of
mispadH4553 →
תַּמְרוּרִ֑יםbitterness<es>
tamrurimH8563 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
פִתְאֹ֔םsuddenly
fitomH6597 →25 times
יָבֹ֥אit will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
הַשֹּׁדֵ֖דthe destroyer
hashodedH7703 →57 times
עָלֵֽינוּ׃on us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
it leads to
- Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
- Ezekiel 39:29
And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
- John 19:34–37
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
- Joel 2:28–29
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
- Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
- Revelation 1:7
Through
Jeremiah 14:17You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 8:21
For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me.
- Jeremiah 8:21
Through
Lamentations 4:6The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.
it leads to
- Genesis 19:25
Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.
- Genesis 19:25
Through
Jeremiah 4:8So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 22:12
On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- Isaiah 22:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.