The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:20 Explained

Jeremiah 9:20

KJV: Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.

YLT: But hear, ye women, a word of Jehovah, And your ear receiveth a word of His mouth, And teach ye your daughters wailing, and each her neighbour lamentation.

Darby: Hear then the word of Jehovah, ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and each one her companion lamentation.

ASV: Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet hear  the word  of the LORD,  O ye women,  and let your ear  receive  the word  of his mouth,  and teach  your daughters  wailing,  and every one  her neighbour  lamentation. 

What does Jeremiah 9:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah instructed the professional mourners, on the Lord"s behalf, to teach their daughters how to wail, and to teach their neighbors a dirge.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 9

1  Jeremiah laments the people for their manifold sins;
9  and for their judgment
12  Disobedience is the cause of their bitter calamity
17  He exhorts to mourn for their destruction;
23  and to trust not in themselves, but in God
25  He threatens both Jews and Gentiles

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 9:20 mean?

Yet hear women the word of Yahweh and let receive your ear of His mouth and Teach your daughters wailing and everyone her neighbor a lamentation
כִּֽי־ שְׁמַ֤עְנָה נָשִׁים֙ דְּבַר־ יְהוָ֔ה וְתִקַּ֥ח אָזְנְכֶ֖ם פִּ֑יו וְלַמֵּ֤דְנָה בְנֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ נֶ֔הִי וְאִשָּׁ֥ה רְעוּתָ֖הּ קִינָֽה

כִּֽי־  Yet 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
שְׁמַ֤עְנָה  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
נָשִׁים֙  women 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
דְּבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וְתִקַּ֥ח  and  let  receive 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אָזְנְכֶ֖ם  your  ear 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine plural
Root: אֹזֶן  
Sense: ear, as part of the body.
פִּ֑יו  of  His  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
וְלַמֵּ֤דְנָה  and  Teach 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Imperative, feminine plural
Root: לָמַד  
Sense: to learn. teach, exercise in.
בְנֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙  your  daughters 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
נֶ֔הִי  wailing 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְהִי  
Sense: wailing, lamentation, mourning song.
וְאִשָּׁ֥ה  and  everyone 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
רְעוּתָ֖הּ  her  neighbor 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: רְעוּת  
Sense: female companion, mate, neighbour woman.
קִינָֽה  a  lamentation 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קִינָה  
Sense: lamentation, dirge, elegy.