Jeremiah 9:17

The Lord who rules over all ¹  told me to say to this people, ²  “Take note of what I say. ³  Call for the women who mourn for the dead! Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ⁴ 

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skilful of them.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come; And send for the wailing women, that they may come!

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Think about what is going on! Call for the mourners to come.

A Message from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies: "Look over the trouble we're in and call for help. Send for some singers who can help us mourn our loss.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: Take thought and send for the weeping women, so that they may come; and send for the wise women, so that they may come:

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skilled women to come;

Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come.

The Lord who rules over all ¹  told me to say to this people, ²  “Take note of what I say. ³  Call for the women who mourn for the dead! Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

² tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if it were the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well) and the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20 that he is not the speaker of those verses. I have attempted to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and have the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.

³ tn Heb “Consider!”

⁴ tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.