Jeremiah 9:17-19
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God calls for hired mourners, not because He approves of the practice, but to illustrate the depth of sorrow coming upon Israel. These "skilled" women were professionals at evoking grief, and their summoned lamentations highlight that the nation's impending judgment will be so devastating, even hired professionals would be needed to adequately express the profound loss.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come; let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids flow with water. For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed, because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Lord is calling for professional mourners, skilled women who were hired to wail and lament at funerals. Jeremiah is instructing Judah to summon these women because the impending destruction of their nation will be so devastating that even these hired professionals won't be able to express the depth of the coming sorrow. This sets the stage for a poetic dirge that follows, describing the utter devastation and exile that awaits them.
Imagine a hired troupe of professional mourners arriving at your doorstep. What does this custom tell us about how people expressed grief, and why would God command Jeremiah to call for them?
The passage calls for "mourning women" and "skillful women" to be sent for. These weren't just any women; they were professional mourners, a common practice in the ancient Near East.
Their Role
These women were hired to perform a public display of grief at funerals. They would wail, cry out, dishevel their hair, and even beat their chests or arms to heighten the sense of sorrow. Their skill lay in their ability to evoke strong emotional responses from the actual mourners and onlookers, often by composing impromptu laments that touched on the deceased's life.
A Divine Instruction?
It might seem strange that God would instruct Jeremiah to call for hired mourners. However, God isn't endorsing this custom as a model for true repentance. Instead, He's using a familiar, albeit artificial, expression of sorrow to convey the magnitude of the impending disaster. The coming judgment was so severe that the people's own grief would be insufficient; they would need even professional “experts” in lamentation to even begin to express the depth of their loss.
What does it mean to be "skillful" in mourning? This wasn't just about crying; it was an art form designed to stir the deepest emotions.
The phrase "skillful women" (sometimes translated as "cunning women") points to the highly developed art of lamentation in ancient Israel.
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Expertise in Sorrow
These weren't simply women who felt sad; they were trained professionals. Their "skill" involved knowing how to compose and perform dirges, how to use their voices and bodies to express profound grief, and how to connect with the specific circumstances of the deceased and their families.
Mimicking Genuine Emotion
Commentaries suggest these hired mourners often mimicked authentic, heart-wrenching sorrow. They knew how to strike a "tender chord" and produce tears, making their performance seem as real as genuine grief. This art was so refined that it was sometimes sung to the accompaniment of music, like pipes. While this performance was external and perhaps hollow, God used its familiarity to underscore the genuine, devastating loss that sin brings.
Understand the original words
tsaba' · Hebrew Noun
The divine title 'YHWH of Armies' or 'LORD of Hosts'. It emphasizes God’s supreme authority over all heavenly and earthly powers, including angelic armies, and His role as the sovereign Ruler over history and nations.
misped · Hebrew Noun
A ritualized cry of sorrow or distress, typically performed by professional mourners in ancient Near Eastern culture. In Scripture, it signifies deep pain, judgment, or the mourning of a city or nation facing destruction.
Tsiyown · Hebrew Noun
The historical and theological center of Israel, Jerusalem, and the dwelling place of God’s presence. It represents the spiritual home of the people of God and, in prophecy, often serves as a focal point for both judgment and future restoration.
kelimmah · Hebrew Noun
A state of disgrace, humiliation, or dishonor, often resulting from sin or divine judgment. It represents the loss of dignity and protection that comes when a nation turns away from the covenant relationship with God.
The prophet Jeremiah, living through the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem, uses the vivid, professional wailers common at funerals to illustrate the depth of national grief and the utter devastation that awaits Judah. It's a call to recognize a national death, not just a personal one.
c. 597 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deports King Jehoiachin and many Judeans to Babylon, including prominent figures like Ezekiel. This event signals a major shift in power and the weakening of Jerusalem.
589-586 BC— this verse
Siege and Fall of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem, leading to immense suffering and eventual destruction of the city and the First Temple. This is the peak of the crisis Jeremiah has been prophesying.
c. 586 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the remaining population is largely deported to Babylon, leaving only the poorest to tend the land. This marks the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
This passage directly references 'skillful lamentation' and the sounds of grief in the marketplaces, echoing Jeremiah's call for skilled mourners.
Ecclesiastes 12:5This verse vividly describes the 'mourners who go about the streets' in the context of life's ultimate end, aligning with the somber and public nature of the lament Jeremiah is calling for.
Mark 5:38Here we see Jesus encountering hired mourners actively weeping and wailing at Jairus's home, illustrating the very custom Jeremiah is invoking to convey the depth of national sorrow.
2 Chronicles 35:25This passage mentions 'singing men and singing women' whose laments for Josiah became a lasting tradition, highlighting how deep national loss could be expressed through formalized, skilled mourning.
cambridgeJeremiah 9:17: "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:"
17 . cunning ] i.e. skilled . Cp. Genesis 25:27 ; 1 Samuel 16:18 ; 2 Chronicles 26:15 . 17, 18 . “There are in every city and community women exceedingly cunning in this business.… When a fresh company of sympathisers comes in, these women ‘make haste’ to ‘take up a wailing’ that the newly come may the more easily unite their tears with…
barnesJeremiah 9:17: "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:"
The mourning women - Hired to attend at funerals, and by their skilled wailings aid the real mourners in giving vent to their grief. Hence, they are called "cunning," literally "wise" women, wisdom being constantly used in Scripture for anything in which people are trained.
God calls for hired mourners, not because He approves of the practice, but to illustrate the depth of sorrow coming upon Israel. These "skilled" women were professionals at evoking grief, and their summoned lamentations highlight that the nation's impending judgment will be so devastating, even hired professionals would be needed to adequately express the profound loss.
The Lord is calling for professional mourners, skilled women who were hired to wail and lament at funerals. Jeremiah is instructing Judah to summon these women because the impending destruction of their nation will be so devastating that even these hired professionals won't be able to express the depth of the coming sorrow. This sets the stage for a poetic dirge that follows, describing the utter devastation and exile that awaits them.
The Lord is calling for professional mourners, skilled women who were hired to wail and lament at funerals. Jeremiah is instructing Judah to summon these women because the impending destruction of their nation will be so devastating that even these hired professionals won't be able to express the depth of the coming sorrow. This sets the stage for a poetic dirge that follows, describing the utter devastation and exile that awaits them.
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come; let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears and ou…" — God calls for hired mourners, not because He approves of the practice, but to illustrate the depth of sorrow coming upon Israel. These "skilled" women were professionals at evoking grief, and their s…
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Last reviewed October 2026
