And when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down appalled.

And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having torn my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,

I also issue a decree concerning any man who interferes with this directive:

Let a beam be torn from his house and raised up; he will be impaled on it, and his house will be made into a garbage dump because of this offense.

Now while Ezra was praying and confessing in tears, having prostrated himself to the ground before the Temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelis men, women, and children gathered around him. Indeed, the people were crying bitterly.