The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:9 Explained

Jeremiah 9:9

KJV: Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

YLT: 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?

Darby: Shall I not visit them for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

ASV: Shall I not visit them for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Shall I not visit  them for these [things]? saith  the LORD:  shall not my soul  be avenged  on such a nation  as this? 

What does Jeremiah 9:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh asked, rhetorically, if He should not punish such a nation for their deceits. His nation had become like all the other nations (cf. Jeremiah 9:24-25). Should He not avenge Himself by punishing Judah for violating His covenant commands?
"The grief of God is caused not only by what the people have done to him but more especially by what they have done to each other." [1]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 9:1-16 - National Perversity
Jeremiah 9:1-6
Once the voice of joy and thanksgiving had been heard in Jerusalem, but now on every side there was bloodshed, and the patriot-prophet could only weep incessantly over the slain. A lodge in the wilderness seemed preferable to the most luxurious mansion in the city. Solitude would be better than association with the ungodly perpetrators of such crimes. Yet we must not go out of the fray so long as our Captain wants us to remain in it, in dependence upon him.
Jeremiah 9:7-16
What a magnificent description of the effect of God's judgments on the land! No bird, no beast, no lowing of cattle, but jackals gamboling over the ruins of Jerusalem. However fast we shut our doors and windows, death enters our homes. Neither palace nor cottage is exempted. There is no escape for young or old from the judgments of God, except in penitence and faith. The secret of national decay and overthrow is the same in all ages. The tree is rotten at the core before it falls beneath the hurricane. Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 1:18, which belongs to this chapter, and learn how little the wisdom and might of the world can avail us in the dread hour of universal desolation. Stand with the Crucified and glory in His Cross; be content to bear His reproach and shame, that you may become a son of the Resurrection, and be accounted worthy to escape those things that must come to pass, and at last stand, before Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 9

1  Jeremiah laments the people for their manifold sins;
9  and for their judgment
12  Disobedience is the cause of their bitter calamity
17  He exhorts to mourn for their destruction;
23  and to trust not in themselves, but in God
25  He threatens both Jews and Gentiles

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 9:9 mean?

Shall for these [things] not I punish them says Yahweh On on a nation such as this not shall avenge I Myself -
הַעַל־ אֵ֥לֶּה לֹֽא־ אֶפְקָד־ בָּ֖ם נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֑ה אִ֚ם בְּג֣וֹי אֲשֶׁר־ ؟ כָּזֶ֔ה לֹ֥א תִתְנַקֵּ֖ם נַפְשִֽׁי ס

הַעַל־  Shall  for 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אֵ֥לֶּה  these  [things] 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.
אֶפְקָד־  I  punish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: פָּקַד 
Sense: to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּג֣וֹי  on  a  nation 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
אֲשֶׁר־  such 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
؟ כָּזֶ֔ה  as  this 
Parse: Preposition-k, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
תִתְנַקֵּ֖ם  shall  avenge 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָקַם  
Sense: to avenge, take vengeance, revenge, avenge oneself, be avenged, be punished.
נַפְשִֽׁי  I  Myself 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Jeremiah 9:9?

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