Jeremiah 5:29

Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to a nation that has grown complacent in wickedness while ignoring the vulnerable (Jeremiah 5:28). The declaration follows the observation that a horrible and shocking thing has occurred within the land (Jeremiah 5:30).

The words — The Hebrew אֶפְקֹד ('epḳōd) translates literally as "will I punish," framed by the interrogative אִם ('im) meaning "or?" to form a rhetorical challenge. The formula נְאֻם־יְהוָה (neʿum-YHWH) functions as a fixed marker of divine utterance.

The thread — This judicial formula reappears in Jeremiah 5:9 and parallels the theme of swift divine reckoning in Malachi 3:5 and James 5:4.

Why it lands — The text asserts that God will actively punish and avenge Himself against a nation defined by systemic injustice. It requires the reader to accept that divine patience is conditional and that unaddressed oppression triggers direct intervention.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

הַֽעַל־ha./'al-¿/ on אֵ֥לֶּה'E.lehthese [things]לֹֽא־lo'-not אֶפְקֹ֖ד'ef.Kodwill I punish נְאֻם־ne.'um-[the] utterance of יְהֹוָ֑הYah.wehYahweh אִ֚ם'imor?בְּג֣וֹיbe./Goyon/ a nation אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which כָּזֶ֔הka./Zeh[is] like/ this [one]לֹ֥אlo'not תִתְנַקֵּ֖םtit.na.Kemwill it avenge itself נַפְשִֽׁי׃ סnaf.Sh/iself/ my

King James Version

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

Cross-references

Jeremiah 5:9 Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
James 5:4 Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Jeremiah 9:9 Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”