2 Kings 6:30

30 When the king heard the woman's story, he ripped his clothes. And as he passed by along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing mourning clothes underneath.

2 Kings 6:30 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 6:30

And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the
woman, that he rent his clothes
At the horror of the fact reported, and through grief that his people were brought into such distress through famine:

and he passed by upon the wall;
returning to his palace:

and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth upon his flesh;
which, in token of humiliation for averting the calamities he was under, he had put there before, and now was seen through the rending of his clothes.

2 Kings 6:30 In-Context

28 But then the king asked her, "What's troubling you?" She answered, "A woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today; we'll eat my son tomorrow.'

29 So we cooked and ate my son. The next day I said to her, ‘Hand over your son so we can eat him.' But she had hidden her son."

30 When the king heard the woman's story, he ripped his clothes. And as he passed by along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing mourning clothes underneath.

31 He said, "So may God do to me, and more, if the head of Elisha, Shaphat's son, remains on his shoulders today!"

32 Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before the man arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Do you see that this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Watch for when the messenger comes, then close the door and hold it shut against him. The sound of his master's feet is right behind him, isn't it?"