2 Kings 5:7

5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? ¹  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” ² 

2 Kings 22:11

22:11 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes.

2 Kings 22:19

22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit ³  and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. ⁴  You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.

Genesis 37:29

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ⁵  He tore his clothes,

Genesis 37:34

37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, ⁶  and mourned for his son many days.

Job 1:20

1:20 Then Job got up ⁷  and tore his robe. ⁸  He shaved his head, ⁹  and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 33:7

33:7 Look, ambassadors ¹¹  cry out in the streets;

messengers sent to make peace ¹²  weep bitterly.

Isaiah 36:21-22

36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief ¹³  and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

Jeremiah 36:24

36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 26:65

26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, ¹⁵  “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now ¹⁶  you have heard the blasphemy!

[5:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:7]  ² tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”

[22:19]  ³ tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”

[22:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.

[37:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[37:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”

[1:20]  ⁷ tn The verb וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”) indicates the intentionality and the rapidity of the actions to follow. It signals the beginning of his response to the terrible news. Therefore, the sentence could be translated, “Then Job immediately began to tear his robe.”

[1:20]  ⁸ sn It was the custom to tear the robe in a time of mourning, to indicate that the heart was torn (Joel 2:13). The “garment, mantel” here is the outer garment frequently worn over the basic tunic. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 220-24.

[1:20]  ⁹ sn In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished the person, including that which nature provided (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).

[1:20]  ¹⁰ tn This last verb is the Hishtaphel of the word חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחָה); it means “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground.” In the OT it is frequently translated “to worship” because that is usually why the individual would kneel down and then put his or her forehead to the ground at the knees. But the word essentially means “to bow down to the ground.” Here “worship” (although employed by several English translations, cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV) conveys more than what is taking place – although Job’s response is certainly worshipful. See G. I. Davies, “A Note on the Etymology of histah^awah,” VT 29 (1979): 493-95; and J. A. Emerton, “The Etymology of histah^awah,” OTS (1977): 41-55.

[33:7]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. Proposals include “heroes” (cf. KJV, ASV “valiant ones”; NASB, NIV “brave men”); “priests,” “residents [of Jerusalem].” The present translation assumes that the term is synonymous with “messengers of peace,” with which it corresponds in the parallel structure of the verse.

[33:7]  ¹² tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).

[36:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning.

[36:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes.” The sentence has been broken up into two shorter sentences to better conform to English style and some of the terms explained (e.g., tore their clothes) for the sake of clarity.

[26:65]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

[26:65]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Behold now.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).