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Tuesday, April 7th, 2026
Tuesday in Easter Week
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New Life Version

Jeremiah 9:9

Should I not punish them for these things?" says the Lord. "Should I not make a nation such as this pay for its sins?

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

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?
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 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 only my head were a well of water, and my eyes a well of tears, that I might cry day and night for my people who have been killed! 2 If only I had a place in the desert for travelers to stay, that I might leave my people, and go away from them! For none of them are faithful. They are a gathering of men who cannot be trusted. 3 "They use their tongue like their bow. Lies, and not truth, rule the land. For they go from sin to sin, and they do not know Me," says the Lord. 4 "Let every one watch his neighbor. Do not trust any brother. Because every brother sets traps, and every neighbor goes about hurting people with his talk. 5 Every one fools his neighbor, and does not tell the truth. They have taught their tongue to tell lies. They become tired doing so many sins. 6 You live in the center of false ways. In their false ways they are not willing to know Me," says the Lord. 7 So the Lord of All says, "See, I will make them pure and test them. For what else can I do with My people? 8 Their tongue is an arrow that kills. It lies. A man speaks peace to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he plans to trap him. 9 Should I not punish them for these things?" says the Lord. "Should I not make a nation such as this pay for its sins? 10 "I will cry with a loud voice for the mountains. I will cry out in sorrow for the fields, because they are laid waste. No one passes through them. The sound of the cattle is not heard. The birds of the sky and the wild animals have run away. They 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
But I will make My agreement with you. You will go into the large boat, you and your sons and your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
Genesis 9:7
As for you, have many children. Cover the earth with many people."
Genesis 9:8
Then God said to Noah and his sons,
Genesis 9:9
"See, I make My agreement with you, and with your children after you,
Genesis 9:10
and with every living thing that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every animal of the earth, of all that came out of the large boat, every living thing on earth.
Genesis 9:11
I make My agreement with you, that never again will all flesh be destroyed by the water of a flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth."
Genesis 9:17
God said to Noah, "This is the special thing to see because of the agreement I have made between Me and all flesh upon the earth."
Genesis 22:17
I will bring good to you. I will add many to the number of your children and all who come after them, like the stars of the heavens and the sand beside the sea. They will take over the cities of those who hate them.
Jeremiah 33:20
"This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break My agreement with the day and night, so that day and night will not come at their set time,
Romans 1:3
It tells of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was born as a person in the flesh through the family of King David.

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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