Isaiah 22:12

12 On that day the Almighty LORD of Armies will call for crying and for mourning, for shaving your heads and for wearing sackcloth.

Isaiah 22:12 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 22:12

And in that day did the Lord God of hosts
When it was a day of trouble, of treading down, and of perplexity; when Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrian army; and when the people were so much concerned, and so careful for their defence and preservation; then did the Lord call to weeping and to mourning;
to confess and mourn over their sins, the cause of these calamities; to lament their unhappy case; to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, and, by prayer and supplication, with tears to implore his help and assistance, and grant them deliverance; this the Lord called them unto by the voice of his Providence, by the afflictive dispensations of it, and also by his prophets, whom he sent unto them, particularly the Prophet Isaiah; so the Targum,

``and the prophet of the Lord God of hosts called in that day,'' &c.:

and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth;
which were external signs and tokens of inward sorrow and repentance; the former of which was done by shaving the head, or plucking off the hair, and was forbidden on private occasions, yet might be allowed in a public case; see ( Micah 1:16 ) ( Jeremiah 16:6 ) .

Isaiah 22:12 In-Context

10 You will count the houses in Jerusalem. You will tear down those houses in order to fortify the walls.

11 You will build a reservoir between the two walls to hold the water of the Old Pool. You didn't look to Jerusalem's maker. You didn't see the one who formed it long ago.

12 On that day the Almighty LORD of Armies will call for crying and for mourning, for shaving your heads and for wearing sackcloth.

13 Instead, you will rejoice, celebrate, slaughter cattle, and butcher sheep. You will eat meat, drink wine, and say, "Let's eat and drink because tomorrow we're going to die."

14 The LORD of Armies revealed this to me: "Certainly, this wrong will not be forgiven even when you die," says the Almighty LORD of Armies.