# sackcloth

## Definition

Sackcloth was a garment made out of goat or camel hair. This cloth was very coarse and scratchy.

* Often clothing made out of sackcloth was worn as a way of showing mourning, grief or humiliation.
* Wearing ashes or sitting in ashes was also a sign of mourning and humility.
* The phrase "sackcloth and ashes" was a common term referring to a traditional expression of grief and repentance.


## Translation Suggestions



* This term could be translated as, "coarse cloth from animal hair" or "clothes made of goat hair" or "rough, scratchy clothing."
* Other ways to translate this term could include, "rough, scratchy mourning clothes."
* The phrase "sit in sackcloth and ashes" could be translated as, "show mourning and humility by wearing scratchy cloth and sitting in ashes."