Lamenting women were invited when someone in the house died or when a funeral was held. They sang lamentations about the dead. Men could also sing lamentations. An example is the lamentation that David sang after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:1–27). In this verse, the invitation of the lamenting women proves that the city is on the brink of death. There is no saving it. This mourning leads to many tears, and it is an expression of great sadness.
17 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come;