29 Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?"
29 Do you think I'll stand by and do nothing about this?" God's Decree. "Don't you think I'll take serious measures against a people like this?
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?' says the Lord. 'Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?'
29 Should I not punish them for this?" says the Lord . "Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
9 Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?"
9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
9 Do you think I'm going to stand around and do nothing?" God's Decree. "Don't you think I'll take serious measures against a people like this?
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?" says the Lord. "Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?"
9 Should I not punish them for this?" says the Lord . "Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?"
(Read Jeremiah 9:1-11)
Jeremiah wept much, yet wished he could weep more, that he might rouse the people to a due sense of the hand of God. But even the desert, without communion with God, through Christ Jesus, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, must be a place for temptation and evil; while, with these blessings, we may live in holiness in crowded cities. The people accustomed their tongues to lies. So false were they, that a brother could not be trusted. In trading and bargaining they said any thing for their own advantage, though they knew it to be false. But God marked their sin. Where no knowledge of God is, what good can be expected? He has many ways of turning a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwell therein.
22 When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became a curse and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today.
22 So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
22 The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
22 And he got fed up. Finally, he couldn't take your evil behavior and your disgusting acts any longer. Your land became a wasteland, a death valley, a horror story, a ghost town. And it continues to be just that.
22 So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
22 It was because the Lord could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing-a desolate ruin without inhabitants-as it is today.
(Read Jeremiah 44:20-30)
Whatever evil comes upon us, it is because we have sinned against the Lord; we should therefore stand in awe, and sin not. Since they were determined to persist in their idolatry, God would go on to punish them. What little remains of religion were among them, would be lost. The creature-comforts and confidences from which we promise ourselves most, may fail as soon as those from which we promise ourselves least; and all are what God makes them, not what we fancy them to be. Well-grounded hopes of our having a part in the Divine mercy, are always united with repentance and obedience.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 5:29
Commentary on Jeremiah 5:19-31
(Read Jeremiah 5:19-31)
Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into wickedness. Neither did they consider their interest. While the Lord, year after year, reserves to us the appointed weeks of harvest, men live on his bounty; yet they transgress against him. Sin deprives us of God's blessings; it makes the heaven as brass, and the earth as iron. Certainly the things of this world are not the best things; and we are not to think, that, because evil men prosper, God allows their practices. Though sentence against evil works is not executed speedily, it will be executed. Shall I not visit for these things? This speaks the certainty and the necessity of God's judgments. Let those who walk in bad ways consider that an end will come, and there will be bitterness in the latter end.