And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.
Uncover not your heads. They who were ordered to carry out the two bodies, being engaged in their sacred duties, were forbidden to remove their turbans, in conformity with the usual customs of mourning; and the prohibition, "neither rend your garments," was in all probability confined also to their official costume. For at other times the priests wore the ordinary dress of their countrymen, and, in common with their families, might indulge their private feelings by the usual signs or expressions of grief (see the note at Numbers 9:6).