Jeremiah 9:9

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."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Should I not punish them for these things?

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?

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

¹ If my head were filled with water, and if my eyes were a fountain of tears, I would cry day and night for my people who have been destroyed. ² If only I had a place in the desert— a house where travelers spend the night— so I could leave my people. I could go away from them, because they are all unfaithful to God. They have all turned against him. ³ "They use their tongues like a bow; lies fly from their mouths like arrows. Lies, not truth, have grown strong in this land. They go from one sin to another. They don't know me." This is what the Lord said. ⁴ "Watch your neighbors! Don't trust your own brothers, because every brother is a cheat. Every neighbor talks behind your back. ⁵ Everyone lies to their neighbor. No one speaks the truth. The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie. They sinned until they were too tired to come back. ⁶ One bad thing followed another, and lies followed lies. The people refused to know me." This is what the Lord said. ⁷ So the Lord All-Powerful says, "A worker heats metal in a fire to test it and see if it is pure. I will test the people of Judah like that. I have no other choice. My people have sinned. ⁸ The people of Judah have tongues as sharp as arrows. Their mouths speak lies. They all speak kindly to their neighbors, but they are secretly planning ways to attack them. ⁹ 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." ¹⁰ I, Jeremiah, will cry for the mountains. I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields, because all the animals were taken away. No one travels there now. The sounds of cattle cannot be heard. The birds have flown away, and the animals are gone.

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
I will make a special agreement with you. You, your wife, your sons, and their wives will all go into the boat.

Genesis 9:7
"Have many children and fill the earth with your people."

Genesis 9:8
Then God said to Noah and his sons,

Genesis 9:9
"I now make my promise to you and to your people who will live after you.

Genesis 9:10
I make my promise to all the birds, and to all the cattle, and to all the animals that came out of the boat with you. I make my promise to every living thing on earth.

Genesis 9:11
This is my promise to you: All life on the earth was destroyed by the flood. But that will never happen again. A flood will never again destroy all life on the earth."

Genesis 9:17
So God said to Noah, "This rainbow is proof of the agreement that I made with all living things on earth."

Genesis 22:17
I will surely bless you and give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky. There will be as many people as sand on the seashore. And your people will live in cities that they will take from their enemies.

Jeremiah 33:20
The Lord says, "I have an agreement with day and night. I agreed that they would continue forever. You cannot change that agreement. Day and night will always come at the right time. If you could change that agreement,

Romans 1:3
The Good News is about God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. As a human, he was born from the family of David, but through the Holy Spirit he was shown to be God's powerful Son when he was raised from death.

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.”