In this passage (Jeremiah 9:17–22), Jeremiah’s lament continues after the prose section in Jeremiah 9:12–16 which explained the reason for the coming judgment. There is a particular focus on death and mourning in this part of his lament. Jeremiah is drawing a very vivid picture of what lies ahead for the people of Judah and Jerusalem if they continue in their rebellion and if they continue to believe the false message of peace proclaimed by the false prophets.1
Jeremiah has once again used the Lord’s words to express his lament and the Lord himself places words on the lips of the people as he speaks. So, the different parts of the passage can be seen as the Lord instructing Judah to call the mourning women (Jeremiah 9:17–18) the reason to call for mourning (Jeremiah 9:19), the Lord’s command to the mourning women (Jeremiah 9:20–21), and finally a word from the Lord directly to Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 9:22).
The passage starts then with a command from the Lord of hosts
to call the for the mourning women to come. It was, and still is, common in the Middle East to call on women who are professional mourners whenever there was death or disaster.2 Consider,
says the Lord. This is a plural exhortation for the whole nation to stop and reflect on where they find themselves before the Lord. What is being described here is not the funeral of an individual, but rather a state funeral for the nation.3
17 Ainsi parle l'Eternel des armées: Cherchez, appelez les pleureuses, et qu'elles viennent! Envoyez quelqu'un vers les femmes habiles, et qu'elles viennent!