‘Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord, ‘Or shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?’
Parallel translations
- WEB “Shall I not punish for these things?” says Yahweh. “Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- KJV Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- BSB Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
- NKJV Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
- NLT Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God repeats His resolve to punish Judah's sin, asking whether He could let such a corrupt nation go unjudged. His justice cannot simply ignore persistent wickedness.
Overview
This rhetorical question closes a section cataloguing Judah's deceit and oppression. The repetition (cf. 5:9) underscores that God's patience is real but not infinite; His holiness requires that entrenched evil be answered. It anticipates the gospel tension God resolves at the cross, where sin is fully punished and sinners can be justly forgiven.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Mal 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Jer 5:9Shouldn’t I punish them for these things?” says Yahweh; “and shouldn’t my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jas 5:4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies.
- Jer 9:9Shall I not punish them for these things?” says Yahweh. “Shouldn’t my soul be avenged on a nation such as this?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 5:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.