Discovery BoxJeremiah 9:20 
Context“So now, 2 you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. 3
Open your ears to the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters this mournful song,
and each of you teach your neighbor 4 this lament.
Jeremiah 9:10
Context“I will weep and mourn 6 for the grasslands on the mountains, 7
I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness
because they are so scorched no one travels through them.
The sound of livestock is no longer heard there.
Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields
have fled and are gone.”
1 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. The text merely has “Indeed, yes.” The words are supplied in the translation to indicate that the speaker is still Jeremiah though he now is not talking about the mourning woman but is talking to them. See the notes on 9:17-18 for further explanation.
2 tn It is a little difficult to explain how the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:311) may be correct in seeing it as introducing the contents of what those who call for the mourning women are to say. In this case, Jeremiah picks up the task as representative of the people.
3 tn Heb “Listen to the word of the
sn In this context the “word of the
4 tn Heb “Teach…mournful song, and each woman her neighbor lady…”
5 tn The words “I said” are not in the text, but there is general agreement that Jeremiah is the speaker. Cf. the lament in 8:18-9:1. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some English versions follow the Greek text which reads a plural imperative here. Since this reading would make the transition between 9:10 and 9:11 easier it is probably not original but a translator’s way of smoothing over a difficulty.
6 tn Heb “I will lift up weeping and mourning.”
7 tn Heb “for the mountains.” However, the context makes clear that it is the grasslands or pastures on the mountains that are meant. The words “for the grasslands” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
