In that day: See the comments on verses 5 and 8b.

The Lord GOD of hosts: For this divine title, see 3.15.

Called to weeping and mourning, to baldness and girding with sackcloth is literally “called for weeping and for mourning and for baldness and to put on sackcloth.” The verb called points to a request or expectation. Called to may be rendered “called you to” (similarly Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). In Hebrew weeping, mourning, and baldness are nouns that refer to actions, while girding is a verb. All four may be rendered as verbs for a more dynamic rendering (so Good News Translation). These four actions express penitence or sorrow for a loss, such as the death of a loved one. Baldness refers to the practice of shaving the head (see Good News Translation) and not simply to going bald; see the comments on 3.24 and 15.2. For girding with sackcloth, see 3.24. If “shaving the head” and girding with sackcloth are not known as signs of penitence and mourning in the receptor-language culture, they can be understood in the context of weeping and mourning. For this whole verse Bible en français courant translates “On that day, the Lord, the God of the universe, called on you to weep and to lament, to shave your head and to wear mourning dress.” Other possible models are:

• At that time Yahweh of hosts, my Master, called for you to weep and mourn, to shave your heads and put on sackcloth.

• At that time my Master, Yahweh of hosts, demanded weeping and mourning, shaving of heads and wearing of sackcloth.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .