⁵ “Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.^(A)

Forbidden Practices

14 “You are sons of the Lord your God;^(A) do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head^[a] on behalf of the dead,^(B)

⁴ So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved off half their beards,^(A) cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.^(B)

⁵ When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

⁵ eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh,^(A) and Samaria^(B) who had shaved their beards,^(C) torn their clothes, and gashed themselves, and^(D) who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the Lord.^(E)

³⁷ Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short.^(A) On every hand is a gash^(B) and sackcloth^(C) around the waist.

Ezekiel Dramatizes Jerusalem’s Fall

5 “Now you, son of man, take a sharp sword,^(A) use it as you would a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair. ² You are to burn a third of it in the city when the days of the siege have ended;^(B) you are to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind, for I will draw a sword to chase after them. ³ But you are to take a few strands from the hair and secure them in the folds of your robe.^{(C) 4} Take some more of them, throw them into the fire, and burn them in it.^(D) A fire will spread from it to the whole house of Israel.

⁵ “This is what the Lord God says: I have set this Jerusalem in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.

²⁰ “They may not shave their heads^(A) or let their hair grow long,^(B) but are to carefully trim their hair.