Thematic Bible: Sackcloth


Thematic Bible



Then David said to Joab and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. Verse ConceptsGesturesClothingClothSackcloth And AshesPreparation For Burial

When king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and he covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house (temple) of the Lord. Verse ConceptsClothThose Who Tore Clothes


The elders of the Daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground keeping silent;
They have thrown dust on their heads,
They have covered themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
Verse ConceptsdaughtersDust, Figurative UseBowingHeadsSackcloth And AshesSprinklingClothing OneselfBowing Heads Before GodSitting In DejectionDust On The HeadIndividuals Being Silent


Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet fragrance of spices there will be [the stench of] rottenness;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, baldness;
Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth;
And branding [of captives by the scorching heat] instead of beauty.
Verse ConceptsBaldness, Figurative UseClothHairsSackcloth And AshesSmellsPeople RottingFragranceMarks On PeopleAppearance Of HairNo BeautyWomen's BeautyHairmakeupbranding


“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai [in Ammon] has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Wrap yourselves with sackcloth and lament (cry out in grief),
And rush back and forth inside the enclosures;
For Malcam [your powerless god] will go into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
Verse ConceptsAi, The CitySackcloth And AshesAfflictions Of The WickedExiled Foreigners


The elders of the Daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground keeping silent;
They have thrown dust on their heads,
They have covered themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
Verse ConceptsdaughtersDust, Figurative UseBowingHeadsSackcloth And AshesSprinklingClothing OneselfBowing Heads Before GodSitting In DejectionDust On The HeadIndividuals Being Silent


They will also cover themselves with sackcloth; horror will overwhelm them, and shame will be on all faces and baldness on all their heads [as evidence of grief]. Verse ConceptsBaldnessHeadsKnivesMourningShavingFoul ClothesShame Will Come


O daughter of my people [says Jeremiah],
Clothe yourself in sackcloth and wallow in ashes;
Mourn [aloud] as for an only son,
A most bitter cry [of sorrow and regret],
For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us [on both prophet and people].
Verse ConceptsAshesLamentingSuddenlyThose Who DestroyAshes Of HumiliationOthers Mourning


“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.
Verse ConceptsSackcloth And AshesHorns Weakened


“For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning],
Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail,
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”
Verse ConceptsClothLamentingHaircloth


His servants said to him, We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes about our necks, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their necks, and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad says, I pray you, let me live. And King [Ahab] said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother.


In their streets they have wrapped themselves with sackcloth;
On their [flat] housetops and in their open squares
Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.
Verse ConceptsProstrationRoofSackcloth And AshesSorrowRooftop

Now this same John had clothing made of camel’s hair and a [wide] leather band around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Verse ConceptsLeatherClothingBeltsAsceticism, People PracticingHairsInsectsJohn The BaptistLocustsWaistsHoneyHairclothHair GarmentsChristmas Tree

And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth.” Verse ConceptsThe Final Days Of TimeCelebrationsTwo WitnessesThree And A Half YearsWitness To The GospelTwo WitnessesThe Two WitnessesEnd Of Daysempowerment

They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a [wide] leather band bound around his loins.” And Ahaziah said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” Verse ConceptsLeatherClothingBeltsHairsAnimal SkinsHairy PeopleHairclothHair Garments

at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot. Verse ConceptsBodyBarefeet

Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning). Verse ConceptsTearing Of ClothesGesturesClothAsceticism, TypesRegretRepentance, Examples OfSackcloth And AshesAfflictions Of The WickedConviction Of SinThose Who Tore ClothesDepression


Clothe yourselves with sackcloth
And lament (cry out in grief), O priests;
Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing],
O ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
Verse ConceptsGesturesClothSackcloth And AshesAll Night PrayersClothing OneselfMaking Cereal Offerings And Libations

Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest [in the spring] until [the autumn] rain fell on them; and she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on their bodies by day, nor the beasts of the field [to feed on them] by night. Verse ConceptsMaternal LoveLove, And The WorldRainProtection Day And NightWild Beasts SubduedBirds EatingBirdsTragedy


Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to mourning,
To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth [in humiliation].
Verse ConceptsGesturesBaldness, UnnaturalBaldnessHairsMourning


Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet fragrance of spices there will be [the stench of] rottenness;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, baldness;
Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth;
And branding [of captives by the scorching heat] instead of beauty.
Verse ConceptsBaldness, Figurative UseClothHairsSackcloth And AshesSmellsPeople RottingFragranceMarks On PeopleAppearance Of HairNo BeautyWomen's BeautyHairmakeupbranding


Tremble, you women who are carefree;
Tremble with fear, you complacent ones!
Strip, undress and wear sackcloth on your waist [in grief],
Verse ConceptsShakingPeople Stripping Off

Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning). Verse ConceptsTearing Of ClothesGesturesClothAsceticism, TypesRegretRepentance, Examples OfSackcloth And AshesAfflictions Of The WickedConviction Of SinThose Who Tore ClothesDepression


“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.
Verse ConceptsSackcloth And AshesHorns Weakened

When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked [at him], and he had on sackcloth underneath [his royal robe] next to his skin. Verse ConceptsBodySackcloth And AshesThose Who Tore Clothes

The people of Nineveh believed and trusted in God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth [in penitent mourning], from the greatest even to the least of them. Verse ConceptsAbstinence as a disciplineReligionRepentance, Examples OfGreat And SmallBelieving In GodOthers Believing In GodFastingFasting And Prayerjonah

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with dirt on their heads. Verse ConceptsClothAsceticism, TypesRepentance, Examples OfSackcloth And AshesFasting, Accompanied ByMonth 7FastingFasting And Prayer


When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning],
I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.
Verse ConceptsSportsliberation

But his servants said to him, “We have heard that the kings of the house (royal line) of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth around our loins and ropes on our necks [as symbols of submission], and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.” Verse ConceptsRopesSackcloth And AshesPeople Showing Mercyhumor


Now this same John had clothing made of camel’s hair and a [wide] leather band around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Verse ConceptsLeatherClothingBeltsAsceticism, People PracticingHairsInsectsJohn The BaptistLocustsWaistsHoneyHairclothHair GarmentsChristmas Tree




When King Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over his household, Shebna the scribe, and the older priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

And in that day the [false] prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not wear a hairy robe [of true prophets] in order to deceive, Verse ConceptsHairsNo VisionsAvoiding DeceitHairclothShame Of Bad Conduct

But his servants said to him, “We have heard that the kings of the house (royal line) of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth around our loins and ropes on our necks [as symbols of submission], and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.” Verse ConceptsRopesSackcloth And AshesPeople Showing Mercyhumor

Then David said to Joab and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. Verse ConceptsGesturesClothingClothSackcloth And AshesPreparation For Burial


“I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds]
And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.”
Verse Conceptsdarkness, naturalBlacknessSackcloth And AshesSkyColors, Black


You have turned my mourning into dancing for me;
You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
Verse ConceptsdanceMourning Turned To JoyWorship, Elements OfDancingRestored JoyClothed With Good ThingsGod Stripping PeopleNot MourningDisappointmentjoyful


In their streets they have wrapped themselves with sackcloth;
On their [flat] housetops and in their open squares
Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.
Verse ConceptsProstrationRoofSackcloth And AshesSorrowRooftop

Now when Mordecai learned of everything that had been done, he tore his clothes [in mourning], and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the center of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly. Verse ConceptsTearing Of ClothesAshesLamentingThose Who Tore ClothesAshes Of Humiliation

He went [only] as far as the king’s gate, because no one was to enter the king’s gate dressed in sackcloth. Verse ConceptsComing To Gates


But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and every one is to call on God earnestly and forcefully that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence that is in his hands. Verse ConceptsImportunity, Towards GodAvoiding ViolenceBoth Men And Animals Affectedjonah