And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes in distress. As he walked along the city wall, the people could see that underneath his royal robes, he was wearing rough sackcloth against his skin.
The king was so devastated by the woman's story that he tore his clothes in grief, revealing he had already been wearing sackcloth as a sign of deep mourning and repentance.
📚 Historical Context
In the context of a severe famine in the ancient city of Samaria during a siege by the Aramean army, the people were suffering greatly from starvation and desperation. When the king of Israel heard a woman's horrifying account of cannibalism, it revealed the depth of the crisis and prompted his dramatic response. This act of tearing his clothes and wearing sackcloth underneath symbolized public mourning and a plea for God's mercy in a time of national distress.
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