ירמיהו, פרק ט׳, פסוק י״ז

The prophet urgently calls upon the skilled mourning women to awaken the grief of the people. Speaking on behalf of all the Israelites [רד״ק], he pleads for immediate action. This call for lamentation is treated with extreme urgency [ביאור שטיינזלץ], likened to the rush of treating a dangerously ill patient who is still clinging to life [מלבי״ם]. The women must raise their voices and sound a bitter wail [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Crucially, this mourning is not directed at those who have already died, but rather at the living [מלבי״ם]. The goal of this loud, external crying is to pierce the numbness of the people, stirring their hearts so deeply that they finally break down and weep for their own tragic reality [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

Once the people's grief is awakened, their weeping will be absolute. The intensity of their sorrow is described as though the eye itself is melting and pouring down in tears [רד״ק], while the eyelids drip continuously with water [מצודת ציון]. The primary approach among commentators is that the mention of both eyes and eyelids is simply a poetic repetition, where the term for eyelids refers to the pupils themselves [רד״ק, מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד].

However, a deeper distinction suggests that these two physical actions reflect different layers of pain. When the eyes are open and directly witness the fallen bodies before them, they shed tears. Yet, when the people close their eyelids to escape the horrifying reality, their minds inevitably turn to the bitter future. In that darkness, realizing that death might be preferable to a life of utter disgrace, their crying only intensifies, flowing with an overwhelming abundance of water [מלבי״ם].