Description and usage
Sackcloth was a coarse dark material made of goat or camel hair. It was worn next to the skin as a sign of mourning or repentance (2KI 6:30).
Translation
Customs associated with mourning vary greatly in different cultures, and in some the clothing or lack of clothing is not relevant. In most languages “sackcloth” is described as “coarse cloth” and sometimes as “heavy cloth.” It will often be best to clarify the relation between these clothes and mourning; for example, “clothes that show someone is mourning for the dead.”
In some languages there may exist an equivalent symbol of mourning, such as body painting, smearing ashes over the face or chest, carrying objects such as bags symbolizing a needy widow’s mourning, or wearing a cord of mourning around the neck. There are dangers as well as advantages in such a cultural translation. Particular aspects of the Israelite culture are lost, and there may be undesirable meanings associated with the local practice. Whenever this is done, all of its ramifications should be checked carefully. Generally it will be preferable to use the Israelite custom, with a footnote explaining its meaning or providing the equivalent custom. A footnote might read “Mourning clothes were coarse pieces of cloth sewed together from woven goat or camel hair.”
2SA 14:2 does not specifically mention sackcloth but speaks of “mourning clothes.” It was the Jewish custom to tear the outer garment as a sign of despair or sadness. However, this verse indicates something more than just tearing the clothing. For the literal clause “put on mourning clothes,” CEV and NCV have “Put on funeral clothes.” Where no special custom is known, or where a known one would be inappropriate for the context of this story, it may be possible to expand this clause to “Go and put on special clothes that will make David think you are sad because someone has died.”
JOB 16:15: The first half of this verse is literally “I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin” (so RSV). This may suggest that Job will wear the sackcloth permanently, or that he wears it next to his skin. GNT “I mourn and wear clothes made of sackcloth” avoids expressing either suggestion. GECL, however, translates “The mourning clothes are my second skin,” which implies that Job will wear them all the time. This line may be rendered “I have put mourning clothes on my body,” “I have dressed myself in the clothes of those who mourn for the dead,” or “I wear the rough cloth of those who are in mourning.”
In some passages the wearing of sackcloth is not an act of mourning because of death but rather an expression of sorrow and penitence. See, for example, ISA 58:5; DAN 9:3; JON 3:6.
MAT 11:21: The last part of this verse is literally “they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (so RSV; see also LUK 10:13). Instead of retaining the reference to putting on “sackcloth and ashes,” some translations have said simply “long ago they would have shown to everyone that they were turning from their sins.” However, translators should try to retain these cultural actions in the text, since they were a common aspect of biblical culture.