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Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

Jeremiah 9:9

Should I not punish them for these things?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Truth;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Deceit;   Truth;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Denial;   Funeral;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Lamentations;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Neighbor;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Zechariah, Book of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Captivity;   ḥanina (Hananiah) B. Abbahu;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Shall I not visit them for these things? says the LORD; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
King James Version
Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord : shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
English Standard Version
Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord , and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
New American Standard Bible
"Shall I not punish them for these things?" declares the LORD. "Shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?
New Century Version
Shouldn't I punish the people for doing this?" says the Lord . "Shouldn't I give a nation like this the punishment it deserves?"
Amplified Bible
"Shall I not punish them for these things?" says the LORD. "Shall I not avenge Myself On such a nation as this?
World English Bible
Shall I not visit them for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Shal I not visit them for these things, saith the Lorde? or shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?
Legacy Standard Bible
Shall I not punish them for these things?" declares Yahweh."On a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?
Berean Standard Bible
Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?"
Contemporary English Version
Give me one good reason not to punish them as they deserve. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken.
Complete Jewish Bible
I weep and wail for the mountains and lament over the desert pastures, because they have been burned up; no one passes through; they no longer hear the sound of cattle; the birds and wild animals have fled, are gone.
Darby Translation
Shall I not visit them for these [things]? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Easy-to-Read Version
Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?" This message is from the Lord . "You know I should punish a nation such as this. I should give it the punishment it deserves."
George Lamsa Translation
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; shall I not avenge myself on a people such as this?
Good News Translation
Will I not punish them for these things? Will I not take revenge on a nation like this? I, the Lord , have spoken."
Lexham English Bible
Because of these things shall I not punish them?" declares Yahweh, "On a nation that is like this shall I not take revenge?
Literal Translation
Shall I not visit them for these things ? says Jehovah. Or shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Shulde I not punysh them for these thinges, saieth the LORDE? Or, shulde I not be auenged of eny soch people, as this?
American Standard Version
Shall I not visit them for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Bible in Basic English
Am I not to send punishment for these things? says the Lord: will not my soul take payment from such a nation as this?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through. And they hear not the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled, and gone.
King James Version (1611)
Shall I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord ? shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Should I not punishe them for these thinges, saith the Lorde? or shoulde I not be auenged of any suche people as this?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this?
English Revised Version
Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, ether schal not my soule take veniaunce on siche a folc?
Update Bible Version
Shall I not visit them for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Webster's Bible Translation
Shall I not visit them for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
New English Translation
I will certainly punish them for doing such things!" says the Lord . "I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!"
New King James Version
Shall I not punish them for these things?" says the LORD. "Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?"
New Living Translation
Should I not punish them for this?" says the Lord . "Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?"
New Life Bible
Should I not punish them for these things?" says the Lord. "Should I not make a nation such as this pay for its sins?
New Revised Standard
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord ; and shall I not bring retribution on a nation such as this?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For these things, shall I not bring punishment on them? Demandeth Yahweh, - On a nation such as this, must not my soul avenge herself!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Shall I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord? or shall not my soul be revenged on such a nation?
Revised Standard Version
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
Young's Literal Translation
For these things do not I see after them? An affirmation of Jehovah, Against a nation such as this doth not My soul avenge itself?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Shall I not punish them for these things?" declares the LORD. "On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?

Contextual Overview

1If my head were a flowing spring, 2If only I had a traveler’s lodging placein the wilderness,I would abandon my peopleand depart from them,for they are all adulterers,a solemn assembly of treacherous people. 3They bent their tongues like their bows;lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,for they proceed from one evil to another,and they do not take me into account. 4Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.Don’t trust any brother,for every brother will certainly deceive,and every friend spread slander. 5Each one betrays his friend;no one tells the truth.They have taught their tongues to speak lies;they wear themselves out doing wrong. 6You live in a world of deception.In their deception they refuse to know me. 7Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: 8Their tongues are deadly arrows—they speak deception.With his mouthone speaks peaceably with his friend,but inwardly he sets up an ambush. 9Should I not punish them for these things?10I will raise weeping and a lamentover the mountains,a dirge over the wilderness grazing land,for they have been so scorchedthat no one passes through.The sound of cattle is no longer heard.From the birds of the sky to the animals,everything has fled—they have gone away.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Jeremiah 5:9, Jeremiah 5:29, Isaiah 1:24

Reciprocal: Leviticus 18:25 - therefore Psalms 28:3 - speak Jeremiah 19:8 - General Lamentations 4:11 - Lord

Cross-References

Genesis 6:18
But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.
Genesis 9:7
But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
Genesis 9:8
Then God said to Noah and his sons with him,
Genesis 9:9
“Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
Genesis 9:10
and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark.
Genesis 9:11
I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Genesis 9:17
God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”
Genesis 22:17
I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies.
Jeremiah 33:20
“This is what the Lord says: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night so that day and night cease to come at their regular time,
Romans 1:3
concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord,.... The Targum adds,

"to bring evil upon them.''

Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? the Targum is,

"or of a people whose works are such, shall I not take vengeance according to my pleasure?''

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From their punishment the prophet now turns to their sins.

Jeremiah 9:2

The prophet utters the wish that he might be spared his daily striving, and in some lone wilderness give way to his sorrow, without restraint.

A lodging place - It was usual to build in the desert, either by private charity or at the public expense, caravanserais, to receive travelers for a single night, who had however to bring their own supplies with them.

An assembly - Or, a gang.

Treacherous - Faithless toward one another.

Jeremiah 9:3

Rather, “And they bend their tongue to be their bow of lies, i. e.” just as men before a battle get their bows ready, so they of set purpose make ready to do mischief, only their arrows are lying words: “neither do they rule faithfully in the land, i. e.” Judaea.

Jeremiah 9:4

In a state of such utter lawlessness, the bonds of mutual confidence are relaxed, and suspicion takes its place.

Utterly supplant - An allusion to the name of Jacob Genesis 27:36. It might be rendered, “every brother is a thorough Jacob.”

Will walk with slanders - Or, slandereth.

Jeremiah 9:6

A continuation of the warning given in Jeremiah 9:4. “Trust no one: for thou dwellest surrounded by deceit on every side.” Their rejection of God is the result of their want of honesty in their dealings with one another 1 John 4:20.

Jeremiah 9:7

I will melt them, and try them - The punishment is corrective rather than retributive. The terms used are those of the refiner of metals, the first being the smelting to separate the pure metal from the ore; the second the testing to see whether the metal is pure, or still mixed with alloy. God will put the nation into the crucible of tribulation, that whatever is evil being consumed in the fire, all there is in them of good may be purified.

For how shall I do ... - Rather, “for how” else could I act with reference to the “daughter of my people?”

Jeremiah 9:8

An arrow shot out - Rather, “a murderous arrow.”

In heart he layeth his wait - Rather, “inwardly he layeth his ambush.”


 
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