Bible Strands
Isaiah 37:1
On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Hezekiah responds to a received report by tearing his garments, covering himself in sackcloth, and entering the house of the LORD. He acts immediately upon hearing the news, initiating a sequence of mourning and intercession.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יִּקְרַע (va/i.yik.Ra') literally means "and he tore," describing the physical act of ripping garments. The verb וַ/יִּתְכַּ֣ס (va/i.yit.Kas) means "and he covered himself," indicating the donning of sackcloth over his clothes.
The thread — This account parallels the royal mourning recorded in 2 Kings 19:1. Similar garment-tearing responses to prophetic or divine messages appear in 2 Kings 22:11 and Ezra 9:5.
Why it lands — The text records a physical demonstration of distress that immediately precedes formal intercession. It requires the reader to observe how grief transitions into directed action toward the house of the LORD.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 19:1 On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
- 2 Kings 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes
- Ezra 9:5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
- Job 1:20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
- Isaiah 36:22 Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
- Jonah 3:5 And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
- Jeremiah 36:24 Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments.
- Matthew 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.