“In these temples
Of false gods,
The priests sit
With their clothes
Torn.
Their heads
Are shaved.
Their beards
Are shaved.
Their heads
Are uncovered.
They howl.
They shout
Before their gods
As some do
At a funeral banquet.”
The priests of these false idol gods sit in the temples with their clothes torn, as if in mourning. They have their heads and beards shaven with nothing to cover their heads. The Israelite and Judean priests always covered their heads, and they normally did not shave their beards. These priests of the false gods, on the other hand, howled and shouted before the images of their gods. They acted like they were at a funeral meal for their dying gods.