John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 9:20-21

"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. For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, [and] the young men from the streets." — Jeremiah 9:20-21 (ASV)

He proceeds with the same subject but adopts another figure. He then somewhat changes the comparison, for he had instructed them before to hire women to excite mourning with fictitious tears, but he now addresses women in general.

It is as if he had said that such would be the mourning that hired lamentations would not be sufficient, because the calamity would touch all hearts, and that hired wailing would not be genuine. Hear, he says, you women.

Why he addresses women may be explained in two ways: the sensitivity of women more easily leads them to weep; there may be also here an indirect condemnation of the men, that they were deaf and so hardened that no threats terrified them. But the first seems to be the most suitable reason here, provided we still understand that real mourning is opposed to feigned mourning. Then Jeremiah passes from the particular to the general; that is, after having spoken of hired women, he now includes all women, for lamentation would prevail in every city, and also in every house: Hear, then, you women, the word of Jehovah.

And he adds, and let your ears receive the word of his mouth. He mentions on the one hand the mouth of God, and on the other the ears of women. It seems indeed a redundancy, but the repetition is not superfluous. Had he said only, "Let your ears hear the word of his mouth," there would have been a redundancy; but he spoke before only of the word of God, and "hear you"; now he adds, the mouth of God, and the ears of women.

The Prophet no doubt intended to rebuke that hardness which we have often noticed. The word of God was considered of no importance; hence he says, the mouth of God, as if he had said, "God speaks with you, so to speak, from mouth to mouth. For though he employs my labor, I am still only his instrument, so that you may easily perceive that I declare nothing presumptuously, but faithfully deliver what I have received from him."

We therefore see how emphatic this repetition is, which may seem at first sight to be superfluous. The same emphasis belongs to the ears of women; it is as if he had said that they had until now been extremely indifferent, and that it was time for their ears to be attentive.

He adds, And teach your daughters; as if he had said that such would be the wailing that it would reach not only the old and the middle-aged, but even young girls, still unrefined and inexperienced. And let every one, he says, teach her neighbor lamentation. In short, the meaning is that no women, old or young, would be exempt from this mourning, as all would be implicated in a common sorrow; for God’s judgment would reach every age, sex, and order of people, and would also penetrate into every house.

And by way of explanation he adds, For death has ascended into our windows. There is here a kind of derision, for the Jews, as has been said, had falsely promised themselves perpetual impunity. Therefore, the Prophet adopts a most suitable comparison here.

For just as those who sleep securely with closed doors believe themselves to be beyond the reach of danger, so the Jews at that time despised God and all His judgments, as if the doors of their houses were closed. Hence the Prophet says that death had entered through the windows.

He thus derides their folly for thinking that they could escape the hand of God because their gates were shut. It was as if God’s power could not ascend above the clouds nor enter through their windows when the doors were closed.

In short, he intimates that the doors would not be opened by God; for though He might not be inclined to break them, He could still immediately ascend into the windows. We now understand the Prophet’s intention in saying that death had entered through the windows.

And what he adds respecting palaces has the same meaning; as if he had said, "Were our houses even fortified, and were they not only comfortable habitations, but made like citadels, yet God could not be excluded; for his power can penetrate through the highest and the thickest walls, so that a palace is to him like the weakest and frailest cottage." Thus we see that by this comparison he checks that foolish confidence by which the Jews had deceived themselves, and by which they were still intoxicated. Death then has ascended into our windows, etc.

He then adds, To cut off the young, or children, from the public ways, and the youths from the streets. By these words he sets forth the dreadfulness of the calamity; for the youths would not be able to defend themselves by their own strength; for by בחורים, bechurim, he means the most robust. Even these would not be able to repel the onset of their enemies; though in the flower of their age, yet their vigor, however strong, would not protect them, nor would children and infants be spared. We see that two things are here set forth by the Prophet—that the assaults of their enemies would be so violent that young men would in vain resist them, as their vigor would be of no use to them, and then that such would be the cruelty of their enemies that no regard would be shown for age, for they would put to death even infants newly born.