What does "beauty for ashes" mean?

Question

Its in the bible:

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them BEAUTY FOR ASHES, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Isaiah 61:3

I just like this phrase for some reason but what does it really mean?

Answer 1

It's in the same ballpark as the age-old ritual of placing ashes on one's forehead on Ash Wednesday, Traditionally, ashes have always been used to mark one's self during periods of deep mourning/reverence. Therefore, ashes are used figuratively here to mean that you're in a desperate position. The best intrepretation of beauty for ashs is probably having one's back up against the wall and in desperate need of help. A willingness to lay down...

Answer 2

The entire passage talks about the Messiah exchanging joyous and beautiful things for the mourning and sadness that was being experienced at that time.  In Hebrew, the words for Beauty and Ashes sound similarly (peer and epher).  The word translated as Beauty was actually an ornamental headdress that was worn during times of celebration.  In contrast, ashes were often worn during times of mourning or great sorrow (along with sackcloth).  

You can find more information about the entire passage of Isaiah 61 here:  http://jfb.biblecommenter.com/isaiah/61....

Looking at the entire passage might help you to put it in context.

I like the phrase too - I think Joyce Meyer wrote a book that has that title.