39 Bible Verses about Tearing Of Clothes

David grabbed [at] his clothes and tore them, [as did] all of the men who [were] with him. Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, [as well] as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.

{While they were on the way}, the message came to David, "Absalom has killed all the sons of the king, and not one of them [was] left." Then the king rose and tore his garments, and he lay on the ground, and all his servants standing by [were] tearing their garments.

Then they [were] walking, talking as they went. Suddenly a fiery chariot with horses of fire [appeared] and separated between the two of them. Elijah went up in the storm [to] the heavens while Elisha [was] watching and crying out, "My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" But he could not see him any longer, and he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Then Job arose and tore his outer garment and shaved his head; {then} he fell upon the ground and he worshiped.

Thus they lifted up their eyes from afar, but they did not recognize him, so they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment and threw dust on their heads {toward the sky}.

And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.

David said to Joab and to all the people who [were] with him, "Tear your clothing and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." Now King David [was] following after the bier. And they buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

" 'As for the priest [who is] higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and {he was ordained} to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments. And he shall not go near any dead person, nor shall he make himself unclean for his father or for his mother. And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane his God's sanctuary, because the dedication of his God's oil of anointment [is] on him; I [am] Yahweh.

And Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, and they put fire in them and placed incense on it; then they presented {before} Yahweh illegitimate fire, which he had not commanded them. So fire went out {from before} Yahweh, and it consumed them so that they died {before} Yahweh. Therefore Moses said to Aaron, "This [is] what Yahweh spoke, saying, 'Among those who are close to me I will show myself holy, and {in the presence of} all the people I will display my glory.'" So Aaron was silent.read more.
Then Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and he said to them, "Come forward. Carry your brothers from {the front of} the sanctuary to {outside the camp}." So they came forward, and they carried them {outside the camp} in their tunics, just as Moses had ordered. Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "You must not let your hair hang loosely, and you must not tear your garments, so that you will not die and he will be angry with all the community. But your brothers, all the house of Israel, may weep [because of] {the burning that Yahweh caused}, but you must not go out from [the] entrance to [the] tent of assembly lest you die, because Yahweh's anointing oil [is] on you." So they did according to Moses' word.

Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She [was] his only child; he did not have a son or daughter except her. And the moment he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Ah! My daughter, you have caused me to bow down, and you have become my trouble. {I made an oath} to Yahweh, and I cannot take [it] back."

Then Reuben returned to the pit and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. And he tore his clothes.

And he searched, beginning with the oldest and finishing with the youngest. And the cup was found in the sack of Benjamin. Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and they returned to the city.

Then all the community {lifted up their voices}, and the people wept during that night. And all the {Israelites} grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and all the community said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert! Why did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return [to] Egypt?"read more.
{They said to each other}, "Let us appoint a leader, and we will return [to] Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces {before} the assembly of the community of the {Israelites}. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the explorers [of] the land, tore their garments. And they said to all the community of the {Israelites}, "The land that we went through to explore [is] an {exceptionally good land}. If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and he will give it to us, a land that [is] flowing [with] milk and honey. Only do not rebel against Yahweh, and you will not fear the people of the land, because they will be our food. {Their protection} has been turned from them; Yahweh [is] with us. You should not fear them."

And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up and attack Ai; [only] two or three thousand men should go up because they [are] few. Do not make all the people weary [up] there." So about three thousand from the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai. The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, and they chased them from the gate up to Shebarim and killed them on the slope. And the hearts of the people melted and became like water.read more.
And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

It happened that the king of Israel [was] crossing over on the wall, and a woman called out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!" He said, "No, let Yahweh help you. {How} can I save you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?" The king said to her, "{What is the problem}?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.'read more.
So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him.' But she had hidden her son." It happened that when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he had been walking on the wall, and the people saw, and behold, sackcloth was over his flesh underneath.

Then Rabshakeh stood and called in a great voice in Judean and said, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus says the king: '[Do] not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you! And [do] not let Hezekiah make you rely on Yahweh, saying, "Surely Yahweh will deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!"read more.
You must not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: "Make a blessing with me, and come out to me, and each one will eat [from] his vine and [from] his fig tree and drink water from his cistern, until {I come} and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, lest Hezekiah mislead you, saying, 'Yahweh will save us!' Did the gods of the nations each save his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, [have] they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who [are there] among all the gods of these countries who have saved their land from my hand, that Yahweh should save Jerusalem from my hand?" '" But they were silent and did not answer him a word, for the command of the king was, "You must not answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [was] over the {palace}, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah [with] torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh. And this happened: When King Hezekiah heard, he tore his garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the temple of Yahweh. And he sent Eliakim, who [was] {in charge of} the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the elders of the priests {covered} with sackcloth to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet. And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This day [is] a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to [the] cervical opening, and there is no strength to give birth. Maybe Yahweh your God heard [the] words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt [the] living God, and he will rebuke the words that Yahweh your God hears. And you must lift up a prayer for the benefit of the remnant that is found.'" When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, "You must say this to your master: 'Thus says Yahweh: "You must not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, [with] which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Look! I [am] about to {put} a spirit in him {so that} he shall hear a rumor and he shall return to his land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land." '" And Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had left from Lachish. Now he heard concerning Tirhakah the king of Cush, saying, "He has set out to fight against you." When he heard [it], he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "You shall say this to Hezekiah, king of Judah: '[Do] not let your God in whom you trust in him deceive you by saying, "Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." Look! you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands to destroy them, and you--shall you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that my {predecessors} destroyed deliver them--Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who [were] in Telassar? Where [is] the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?'" And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and he read it. Then he went up [to] the temple of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out before the {presence} of Yahweh. And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh, saying,

And in Lystra a certain man was sitting powerless in his feet, lame from {birth}, who had never walked. This man listened [while] Paul was speaking. {Paul}, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet!" And he leaped up and began walking.read more.
And [when] the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices in the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have become like men [and] have come down to us!" And they began calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the {principal speaker}. And the priest of the [temple] of Zeus that was just outside the city brought bulls and garlands to the gates [and] was wanting to offer sacrifice, along with the crowds. But [when] the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about [it], they tore their clothing [and] rushed out into the crowd, shouting and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them-- who in generations that are past permitted all the nations to go their [own] ways. And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness." And [although] they said these [things], [only] with difficulty did they dissuade the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

Then Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He said, "I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 'Look, I [am] bringing disaster on you, and I will sweep away after you. I will cut off for Ahab {every male} in Israel, bond or free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, {because you made me angry} and have caused Israel to sin.'read more.
Moreover, concerning Jezebel, Yahweh has said, 'The dogs will eat Jezebel in the outer rampart of Jezreel.' The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat." Truly, there was no one like Ahab who had sold himself by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, whose wife Jezebel urged him on. Also, he acted very abominably by going after idols like all the Amorites had done whom Yahweh had driven out from before the {Israelites}." When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his flesh, fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.

Then the king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and Jehudi read it aloud in the hearing of the king, and in the hearing of all the officials who stood next to the king. Now the king [was] sitting [in] the quarters of the winter in the ninth month, and a fire-pot [was] burning {before} him. {And then}, as Jehudi read three or four columns, he would cut it up in pieces with the knife of the scribe, and he would throw [it] into the fire that [was] in the fire-pot until the whole of the scroll [was] consumed in the fire that was in the fire-pot.read more.
And the king and any of his servants who heard all these words were not startled, and they did not tear their garments.

"And even now," {declares} Yahweh, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing." Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he [is] gracious and compassionate, {slow to anger} and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm. Who knows [whether] he will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, an offering and a libation, for Yahweh your God?

But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy!

But he was silent and did not reply anything. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his clothes [and] said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?

"But if the priest examines [it] and {if} the infection has not spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, then the priest shall command, and {someone} shall wash that on which the infection [is], and he shall confine it second [time] [for] seven days. And the priest shall examine [it] after the infection has been washed off, and {if} the infection has not changed its outward appearance and the infection has not spread, it [is] unclean; he must burn it in the fire; it [is] a fungus on its back or on its front.read more.
But if the priest examines [it] and {if} the infection [is] faded after it has been washed off, then he shall tear it from the garment or from the leather or from the woven material or from the fabric. And if it appears again on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, it [is] spreading; you must burn in the fire that which [has] the infection in it. And the garment or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object that he might wash and the infection is removed from them then shall be washed second [time], and it shall be clean."

As Samuel turned around to go, he caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Then Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor {who is better than you}.

Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and they returned to the city.

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the explorers [of] the land, tore their garments.

And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

And the moment he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Ah! My daughter, you have caused me to bow down, and you have become my trouble. {I made an oath} to Yahweh, and I cannot take [it] back."

Tamar put ashes on her head, and she tore the long-sleeved robe which [was] on her. She put her hand on her head, and {she went away, crying out as she went}.

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his flesh, fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.

while Elisha [was] watching and crying out, "My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" But he could not see him any longer, and he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces.

It happened that as soon as Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why did you tear your clothes? Please may he come to me, that he might know that there is a prophet in Israel."

Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah [with] torn clothes, and they told him the words of the chief commander.

And when the king heard the words of the law, he tore his garments,

At the evening offering I got up from my mourning posture and, with my garment and robe torn, I fell down on my knees and I spread out my palms to Yahweh my God

Mordecai learned all that had been done and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. And he went through the middle of the city and cried out a loud and bitter cry;

then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men [with] shaven beards and torn garments, [who had] cut themselves with blades, {having} grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring [to] the {temple} of Yahweh.

Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy!

But [when] the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about [it], they tore their clothing [and] rushed out into the crowd, shouting