Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:37
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah pronounces this oracle against Moab, describing the nation's complete desolation immediately after noting that their acquired wealth has perished. The statement functions as a descriptive report of the physical markers of total grief sweeping the land.
The words — The Hebrew כָּל־רֹאשׁ (kol-rosh) translates literally as "every head," stressing absolute coverage. Paired with זָקָן (zaqan), meaning "beard," it establishes a uniform, nationwide practice of mourning.
The thread — This specific combination of shaved heads and clipped beards appears in Isaiah 15:2 during Moab's lament, in Genesis 37:34 as Jacob's mourning posture, and in Jeremiah 41:5 among men cutting themselves in grief.
Why it lands — The text first records the literal reality: every person, from head to hand to waist, displays visible signs of loss. It asks the reader to recognize that divine judgment produces uniform, tangible consequences that leave no social stratum or physical detail exempt.
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
For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Isaiah 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Jeremiah 41:5 eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 47:5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?
- Isaiah 20:2 the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.
- Jeremiah 16:6 “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.
- Genesis 37:29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
- Leviticus 19:28 You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
- 1 Kings 18:28 So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.