Jeremiah 16:6

16:6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. ¹ 

Jeremiah 41:5

41:5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. ²  They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. ³  They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 47:5

47:5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning.

The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb.

How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow, ⁵ 

you who remain of Philistia’s power? ⁶ 

Isaiah 3:24

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ⁷ 

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

Isaiah 15:2-3

15:2 They went up to the temple, ⁸ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ⁹ 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ¹⁰  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ¹¹ 

15:3 In their streets they wear sackcloth;

on their roofs and in their town squares

all of them wail,

they fall down weeping.

Ezekiel 7:18

7:18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. ¹² 

Ezekiel 27:31

27:31 they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,

and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning. ¹³ 

Amos 8:10

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹⁴ 

and all your songs into funeral dirges.

I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ¹⁵ 

and cause every head to be shaved bald. ¹⁶ 

I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ¹⁷ 

when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ¹⁸ 

Micah 1:16

1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ¹⁹ 

shave your foreheads as bald ²⁰  as an eagle, ²¹ 

for they are taken from you into exile.

[16:6]  ¹ sn These were apparently pagan customs associated with mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 47:5) which were forbidden in Israel (Lev 19:8; 21:5) but apparently practiced anyway (Jer 41:5).

[41:5]  ² sn Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were all cities in the northern kingdom of Israel with important religious and political histories. When Israel was destroyed in 722 b.c., some of the Israelites had been left behind and some of the Judeans had taken up residence in these northern cities. People residing there had participated in the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Chr 30:11) and Josiah (2 Chr 34:9) and were evidently still faithfully following the Jewish calendar. They would have been on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:34).

[41:5]  ³ tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.

[41:5]  ⁴ tn The words “in Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[47:5]  ⁵ sn Shaving one’s head and gashing one’s body were customs to show mourning or sadness for the dead (cf. Deut 14:1; Mic 1:16; Ezek 27:31; Jer 16:6; 48:37).

[47:5]  ⁶ tn Or “you who are left alive on the Philistine plain.” Or “you who remain of the Anakim.” The translation follows the suggestion of several of the modern commentaries that the word עֵמֶק (’emeq) means “strength” or “power” here (see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 698; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 310; and see also HALOT 803 s.v. II עֵמֶק). It is a rare homonym of the word that normally means “valley” that seems to be an inappropriate designation of the Philistine plain. Many of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the Greek version which reads here “remnant of the Anakim” (עֲנָקִים [’anaqim] instead of עִמְקָם [’imqam], a confusion of basically one letter). This emendation is followed by both BDB 771 s.v. עֵמֶק and KBL 716 s.v. עֵמֶק. The Anakim were generally associated with the southern region around Hebron but an enclave of them was known to have settled in Gaza, Gath, and Ekron, three of the Philistine cities (cf. Josh 11:22). However, the fact that this judgment is directed against the Philistines not the Anakim and that this homonym apparently appears also in Jer 49:4 makes the reading of “power” more likely here.

[3:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ¹¹ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[7:18]  ¹² tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”

[27:31]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they will weep concerning you with bitterness of soul, (with) bitter mourning.”

[8:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “mourning.”

[8:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”

[8:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

[8:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”

[8:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.

[1:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”

[1:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”

[1:16]  ²¹ tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.