Limitless Word
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.
2 Kings 19:1 · New 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.
  • KJV 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.
  • BSB On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered 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 21:27When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
  • 2 Kgs 18:37Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him Rabshakeh’s words.
  • Job 1:20–21Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.
  • Gen 37:34Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
  • Isa 37:1–7When king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into Yahweh’s house.
  • 2 Chr 32:20–22Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and cried to heaven.
  • Ps 35:13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
  • 1 Kgs 21:29“See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but I will bring the evil on his house in his son’s day.”
  • Matt 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
  • Ezra 9:3When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.
  • 1 Sam 4:12A man of Benjamin ran out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with dirt on his head.
  • 2 Chr 7:15–16Now my eyes will be open my ears attentive to prayer that is made in this place.
  • Jonah 3:8but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.
  • Jer 36:24The king and his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, and didn’t tear their garments.
  • 2 Kgs 6:30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his body.
  • Esth 4:1–4Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and a bitterly.
  • 2 Kgs 5:7When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes, and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.”
  • Matt 26:65Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you 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.