Thematic Bible: A symbol of mourning


Thematic Bible



And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment of different colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head and went on crying.

When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and a bitter cry

And in each province, wherever the king's commandment and his law came, there was great mourning among the Jews and fasting and weeping and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.


Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and run to and fro by the hedges, for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

Jod The elders of the daughter of Zion sat upon the ground and are silent: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the daughters of Jerusalem hung their heads down to the ground.


They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and trembling shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

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.

I have sewn sackcloth upon my skin and put dust over my head.

For this, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and howl; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.


Then his slaves said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he will give thee thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, Thy slave Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he replied, If he is yet alive, he is my brother.

In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth; on the tops of their houses and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping as they come down.