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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.
2 Kings 19:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into Yahweh’s house.
  • BSB On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
  • NKJV And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
  • NASB Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord.
  • NLT When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

When Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went into the LORD's house. In crisis he turns immediately to God in humble worship.

Overview

Hezekiah's response models faith under threat: mourning before God and seeking him in the temple rather than panicking or surrendering. The sackcloth expresses humility and dependence. By going to the LORD's house, he places the crisis in God's hands. This pattern of turning to God in distress points to the prayerful trust ultimately perfected in Christ, who prayed in his agony.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • 1 Kgs 21:27And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
  • 2 Kgs 18:37Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
  • Job 1:20–21Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
  • Gen 37:34And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
  • Isa 37:1–7And 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.
  • 2 Chr 32:20–22And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.
  • Ps 35:13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
  • 1 Kgs 21:29Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
  • Matt 11:21Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
  • Ezra 9:3And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.
  • 1 Sam 4:12And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
  • 2 Chr 7:15–16Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
  • Jonah 3:8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
  • Jer 36:24Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
  • 2 Kgs 6:30And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
  • Esth 4:1–4When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
  • 2 Kgs 5:7And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
  • Matt 26:65Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Kings 19:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.

How 2 Kings 19:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.