If a Woman Willfully Cuts or Shaves Off Her Hair but Wears a Scarf or Hat to Pray, Is She Covered?
1) Direct answer
No. If a woman willfully cuts or shaves her hair and then puts on a scarf or hat to pray, she is still uncovered before God. The only covering Scripture names is her hair. She must repent, stop cutting, and let it grow. A scarf may be worn for modesty, but it does not fulfill 1 Corinthians 11.
2) Scriptural explanation
- “Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head… for if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn… but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered” (1 Corinthians 11:5–6). Uncovered is tied to being shorn/shaven.
- “Her hair is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15). The Bible names the covering: hair.
- God receives the repentant: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Willful cutting/shaving = shorn/shaven = uncovered, regardless of any hat.
- The remedy Paul gives is not a hat, but to be “covered”—and he defines that covering as hair. So obedience is to cease cutting and let the hair grow back.
- While it grows, she can pray and walk modestly, but she must not claim a scarf as the Scriptural covering. God forgives the repentant heart immediately; the visible sign returns as the hair grows.
4) Reinforcing statement
Now notice, God is not measuring hats—He honors obedience. Let the hair grow, don’t cut it again, and the God-given covering will return.
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The god of this evil age
65-0801M §79
He said, "Cutting hair, what's that got to do?" Brother, let's stop here just a minute. I just feel somebody resented that. Might've been out on the wire somewhere. Listen. Hair to a woman is a Nazarite vow. Hair to Samson was a Nazarite vow. And when a woman cuts off her hair, she absolutely denies her Nazarite vow that she is a bride to Christ, because there, that one thing, she spoils the whole picture. Correctly. A Nazarite is "one that is consecrated for a purpose." Is that right? Samson was consecrated to a a...
Questions and Answers, Part 3
64-0830M §116
But that's all right. If you ain't got no hair and you want one. If you can do it, that's perfectly all right. Yes, sir! If a woman, her hair isn't long enough, she wants a switch of hair in it, I'd say, put it on, sister. If a man takes bad colds and things, and wants some way---even to his appearance to his wife, if he wanted to wear a hair piece, do it. Yes indeedy. Nothing wrong with that (no, sir!) no more than you would be your teeth, or artificial arm, or anything else. If nature has some---taken something f...
You must be born again
61-1231M §75
Now listen. I'm going to have to cut just a little bit here, you know, get the briars out of the way. Women and men that won't follow God's Word and His teaching after they claim to be born again, there's something wrong. I'm going to speak with the women just a minute. If a woman that knows that God's Word condemns bobbed hair, and wearing shorts, wearing slacks, dressing immorally, and haven't got the decency enough to let your hair grow out and put on clothes that look like a Christian, you're deceived. I don't...
Questions and Answers, Part 1
64-0823M §97
QUESTION: Brother Branham, does this I Timothy 2:9 mean a woman cannot braid her hair? Does "broid" hair mean "braided" hair? Now look, Sister, now this... I'm glad that followed this. I never fixed it there, but it just ... it followed that good. Notice, a braided hair in that day was the sign of a street woman; that's what she done, braided her hair. And Paul said to the Christians, "Now, that adorning, not let it be of a braided..." (or 'broided' and 'braid' is the same thing)--- to braid their hair, because it...
Questions and Answers, Part 3
64-0830M §115
QUESTION: Brother Branham, please explain I Corinthians---I Corinthians 11 and verse 4 through 6. Does not this mean a separate covering from the hair, or is the long hair the only covering we need? (Get me I Corinthians 11. Let's see, I Corinthians 11:4.) It says when praying ... (Oh, yeah. They got it here. They say,) In praying or prophesying can we take our hair---can we ... (Let's see, they got a line drawed through something here.) When prophesying can we take our hair when we ... (You say,) Can we take our h...