Yosua 7:6

7:6 Joshua tore his clothes; ¹  he and the leaders ²  of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening ³  and threw dirt on their heads. ⁴ 

Ester 4:1

Esther Decides to Risk Everything in order to Help Her People

4:1 Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he ⁵  tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud ⁶  and bitter voice.

Daniel 9:3

9:3 So I turned my attention ⁷  to the Lord God ⁸  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁹ 

[7:6]  ¹ sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).

[7:6]  ² tn Or “elders.”

[7:6]  ³ tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”

[7:6]  ⁴ sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “great.”

[9:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ⁹ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.