Jeremiah 5:9
in Jeremiah 5Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
KJV
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
3 notes on this verse(Vers. 9) Will I not visit them for these things, says the Lord? Will my soul not avenge itself on such a nation? When you do these things, he says, are you not worthy of punishment? And note that here visitation is used as punishment and torment, according to what is written: I will visit their iniquities with a rod. And in such a nation my soul will not be avenged (Psalm 88:33)?
This site's exposition
sworn by them that are no gods
on Jeremiah 5:7-9
The pardon question turns rhetorical the moment it is asked, thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods, spiritual adultery named as the covenant's own word for idolatry rather than a metaphor added after the fact. Full feeding produces the opposite of gratitude, when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and the fed horses neighing after another man's wife make the point in an image no one in an agricultural society could miss, appetite with no restraint left in it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Sometimes mercy rejoices against judgment: How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? Here, judgment is reasoning against mercy: Shall I not visit? We are sure that Infinite Wisdom knows how to accommodate the matter between them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Ascend upon its rows Heb. בשרותיה, an expression of a plain. Menahem (p.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַֽעַל־ | haal- | ¿ on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֵ֥לֶּה | ʾeleh | these [things] | H428 → | 746 times |
| לוֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶפְקֹ֖ד | ʾefkod | will I punish | H6485 → | 303 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהֹוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְאִם֙ | veim | and or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בְּג֣וֹי | begoy | on a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּזֶ֔ה | kazeh | [is] like this [one] | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִתְנַקֵּ֖ם | titnakem | will it avenge itself | H5358 → | 35 times |
| נַפְשִֽׁי׃ ס | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
הַֽעַל־¿ on
haal-H5921 →5755 times
אֵ֥לֶּהthese [things]
ʾelehH428 →746 times
לוֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֶפְקֹ֖דwill I punish
ʾefkodH6485 →303 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהֹוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְאִם֙and or?
veimH518 →1069 times
בְּג֣וֹיon a nation
begoyH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
כָּזֶ֔ה[is] like this [one]
kazehH2088 →1180 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִתְנַקֵּ֖םwill it avenge itself
titnakemH5358 →35 times
נַפְשִֽׁי׃ סself my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nahum 1:2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Zechariah 8:2
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”
- Exodus 34:14
For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Psalms 94:1
O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
- Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Exodus 20:5
Through
Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:16
You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Isaiah 60:16
Through
Jeremiah 9:9Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:29
Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 5:29
Through
Jeremiah 5:29Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
it leads to
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
- Malachi 3:5
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.