Jeremiah 9:20

20 Therefore, women, hear ye the word of the Lord, and your ears take the word of his mouth; and teach ye your daughters wailing, and each woman teach her neighbour mourning.

Jeremiah 9:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 9:20

Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women
Not the mourning women, but others who had lost their husbands and their children, and had just reason for real mourning; and therefore they are called upon to it, not only because they were more tenderhearted than men, as Kimchi observes; or because they were more attentive to the hearing of the word of God than men; but because of the paucity of men, such numbers being slain in the siege, and by the sword; and of the loss the women had sustained, see ( Jeremiah 9:22 ) : and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
by his prophets; so the Targum,

``let your ear hearken to the words of his prophets:''

and teach your daughters wailing.
The Arabic version, "a mournful song"; but not the daughters of the mourning women are meant; but the real daughters of those who had lost their husbands or children; since it follows: and everyone her neighbour lamentation;
signifying that the mortality among them would be very universal, not a family escaping; which is described in the next verses. This wailing and lamentation was made by responses, according to the Jews; for they say ^F4,

``what is lamentation? when one speaks, and all the rest answer after her, as it is written in ( Jeremiah 9:20 ) .''

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Misn. Moed Katon, c. 3. sect. 9.

Jeremiah 9:20 In-Context

18 Haste they, and take they wailing on you (Yea, hasten they here, and take they up wailing for you); your eyes bring down tears, and your eyelids flow with waters;

19 for the voice of wailing is heard from Zion. How be we destroyed, and shamed greatly? for we have forsaken the land, for our tabernacles be forsaken. (for the voice of wailing is heard in Zion. How we be destroyed, and so greatly shamed! for we have left the land, we have abandoned our tents.)

20 Therefore, women, hear ye the word of the Lord, and your ears take the word of his mouth; and teach ye your daughters wailing, and each woman teach her neighbour mourning.

21 For why death ascended by your windows, it entered into your houses, to lose little children withoutforth, and young men from the streets. (For death hath gone in by your windows, it entered into your houses; and it hath destroyed the little children outside, and the young men in the streets.)

22 Speak thou, The Lord saith these things, And the dead body of a man shall fall down as a turd on the face of the country(side), and as hay behind the back of the mower, and none there is that gathereth (and there is no one who gathereth them).