Jeremiah 9:9

Jer 9:9 Shall I not visit them for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

Ver. 9. Shall I not visit them?] See on Jer 5:9.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The land laid waste, and the people scattered amongst the heathen. - Jer 9:9. "For the mountains I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lament; for they are burnt up so that no man passeth over them, neither hear they the voice of the flock; the fowls of the heavens and the cattle are fled, are gone. Jer 9:10. And I make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling of jackals; and the cities of Judah I make a desolation, without an inhabitant. Jer 9:11. Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? and to whom the mouth of Jahveh hath spoken, that he may declare it? Wherefore doth the land come to ruin, is it burnt up like the wilderness, that none passeth through? Jer 9:12. Jahveh said: Because they forsake my law which I set before them, and have not hearkened unto my voice, neither walked therein, Jer 9:13. But went after the stubbornness of their heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers have taught them. Jer 9:14. Therefore thus hath Jahveh of hosts spoken, the God of Israel: Behold, I feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink, Jer 9:15. And scatter them among the nations which they knew not, neither they nor their fathers, and send the sword after them, until I have consumed them."

Already in spirit Jeremiah sees God's visitation come upon the land, and in Jer 9:9 and Jer 9:10 he raises a bitter lamentation for the desolation of the country. The mountains and meadows of the steppes or prairies are made so desolate, that neither men nor beasts are to be found there. Mountains and meadows or pastures of the steppes, as contrasted with the cities (Jer 9:10), represent the remoter parts of the country. על is here not local: upon, but causal, concerning = because of, cf. Jer 4:24., as is usual with (נשׂא נהי )קינה; cf. Sa2 1:17; Amo 5:1; Eze 26:17, etc. נצּתוּ, kindled, burnt up, usually of cities (cf. Jer 2:15), here of a tract of country with the sig. be parched by the glowing heat of the sun, as a result of the interruption of agriculture. מדבּר is steppe, prairie, not suitable for tillage, but well fitted for pasturing cattle, as e.g., the wilderness of Judah; cf. Sa1 17:28. With מבּלי, Jer 9:11, cf. Eze 33:28. Not only have the herds disappeared that used to feed there, but the very birds have flown away, because the parched land no longer furnishes food for them; cf. Jer 4:25. To "are fled," which is used most properly of birds, is added: are gone away, departed, in reference to the cattle.

Jer 9:10-13

Jerusalem is to become stone-heaps, where only jackals dwell. תּנּים is jackals (canis aureus), in Isa 13:22 called איּים from their cry; see on Isa. l.c., and Gesen. thes. s. v. מבּלי יושׁב as in Jer 2:15; Jer 4:7. - That such a judgment will pass over Judah every wise man must see well, and every one enlightened by God is to declare it; for universal apostasy from God and His law cannot but bring down punishment. But such wisdom and such spiritual enlightenment is not found in the infatuated people. This is the idea of Jer 9:11-13. The question: Who is the wise man? etc., reminds us of Hos 14:9, and is used with a negative force: unhappily there is none so wise as to see this. "This" is explained by the clause, Wherefore doth the land, etc.: this, i.e., the reason why the land is going to destruction. The second clause, "and to whom," etc., is dependent on the מי, which is to be repeated in thought: and who is he that, etc. Jeremiah has the false prophets here in view, who, if they were really illumined by God, if they had the word of God, could not but declare to the people their corruptness, and the consequences which must flow from it. But since none is so wise...Jeremiah proposes to them the question in Jer 9:11, and in Jer 9:12 tells the answer as given by God Himself. Because they have forsaken my law, etc. נתן לפני, to set before; as in Deu 4:8, so here, of the oral inculcation of the law by the prophets. "Walketh therein" refers to the law. The stubbornness of their heart, as in Jer 3:17; Jer 7:24. After the Baals, Jer 2:23. The relative clause, "which their fathers," etc., refers to both clauses of the verse; אשׁר with a neuter sense: which their fathers have taught them.

Jer 9:14-15

The description of the offence is again followed by the threatening of judgment. To feed with wormwood and give gall to drink is a figure for sore and bitter suffering at the overthrow of the kingdom and in exile. The meaning of the suffix in מאכילם is shown by the apposition: this people. On water of gall see Jer 8:14, and for the use of לענה and ראשׁ together see Deu 29:17. - 'הפיצותים וגו implies a verbal allusion to the words of Deu 28:64 and Deu 28:36, cf. Lev 26:33. With this latter passage the second clause: I send the sword after them, has a close affinity. The purport of it is: I send the sword after the fugitives, to pursue them into foreign lands and slay them; cf. Jer 42:16; Jer 44:27. Thus it is indicated that those who fled into Egypt would be reached by the sword there and slain. This does not stand in contradiction to what is said in Jer 4:27; Jer 5:18, etc., to the effect that God will not make an utter end of them (Graf's opinion). This appears from Jer 44:27, where those that flee to Egypt are threatened with destruction by famine and sword עד כּלּותי או, while Jer 44:28 continues: but they that have escaped the sword shall return. Hence we see that the terms of the threatening do not imply the extirpation of the people to the last man, but only the extirpation of all the godless, of this wicked people.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

(Jer 5:9, Jer 5:29).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

We have already met with this verse; it will therefore be enough briefly to refer to what it contains. God shews here, that except he denied himself he must necessarily punish the Jews. How so? He takes it as granted that he is the judge of the world: he had said that the Jews were not only become wicked in one thing, but were so given up to all kinds of wickedness, that they wearied themselves; what then was to be done? God would not have acted in a manner worthy of himself, nor preserved consistency, had he not punished such men; for he must have changed his nature, had he not hated such a perverse nation. But he speaks after the manner of men when he mentions vengeance; for we know that no passions belong to God, as it has been often stated: but as he hates wickedness, so he is said to execute vengeance, when he appears as a judge and chastises those by whom he has been provoked to wrath.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(9) Shall I not visit . . .?—The previous use of the same warning in Jer_5:9; Jer_5:29 gives these words also the emphasis of iteration.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. Here repeated from ch. Jer_5:9; Jer_5:29.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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?''

See Gill on Jer 5:9.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

See Jer 5:9,29.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A visitation of God.

I CHASTISEMENT IS A VISITATION OF GOD. The phrase "a visitation of God" has been too much confined to calamitous events. God visits us every hour in gentleness and mercy. Still, it is important to recognize that he also comes in chastisement. He comes, does not simply order, but himself executes chastisement.

1. We should recognize the Divine visitation. Outwardly the trouble may have a human origin. The calamities of the Jews arose out of a Chaldean invasion, but the prophets saw above and behind that invasion a Divine purpose. God was in those armies from Babylon. God is in our troubles.

2. This fact should make us dread to incur chastisement. We cannot resist it, for if God is in it, all his might and majesty are there.

3. This fact should make us submit to the chastisement when it comes as just and good. Its origin is not Satanic, but Divine. If God is in it he must ever be true to his character; his fiercest anger can never break the bounds of what is just and fair; he must always be ready to show mercy when this is possible. (Hab_3:2)

II CHASTISEMENT IS DETERMINED BY THE PERSONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. It is God"s soul being avenged. God"s vengeance is quite unlike ours; it is never cruel or intemperate; it is always governed by justice and consistent with unchanging love. It is, however, more than judicial punishment. It is an action arising out of personal feeling and determined by our personal offences against God. Sin is more than transgression of Law, it is ungrateful rebellion against God; and punishment is more than the cold vindication of Law, it is the result of the provoked anger of God. Such anger is right, for it is not kindness but weakness that allows a father to receive insult from a child unmoved. The greater the love, the greater will be the righteous anger when this is wronged.

III CHASTISEMENT IS NECESSITATED BY THE CONDUCT OF MEN. It is "for such things" and "on such a nation." God does not love vengeance. He does not send punishment as an arbitrary exercise of sovereignty. Therefore our chastisement is virtually in our own hands. Even after meriting it, we alone are to blame if the full force of the blow falls upon us. For God has provided a way of escape, and offers forgiveness to all who repent and submit. Therefore it is foolish for men to complain of their hard lot in falling under the storm of a visitation of God in wrath.

IV THE NECESSITY FOR CHASTISEMENT MAY BE RECOGNIZED BY OUR COMMON INTELLIGENCE. The text is an appeal to reason, a question which unbiased minds could answer only in one way. If chastisement is not seen to be reasonable, it must be either

(1) because the depth of guilt is not felt, or

(2) distorted views of chastisement have been entertained. This will be such as befits the offence.

V THE PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CHASTISEMENT INVOLVE PERSONAL ELEMENTS IN REDEMPTION. Hence the necessity for a "propitiation." Thus Christ redeems us by becoming a Propitiation for our sins. (1Jn_2:2)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for the mountains i.e., for the destruction of the mountains.

for the dwellings of the wilderness The dwelling of the shepherds in the wilderness. נאות is an expression of a dwelling. Comp. (Psalms 83: 13) “the dwellings (נאות) of God,” also (ibid. 93:5) “to Your house, the dwelling (נאוה) of sanctity.”

they are withered Heb. נצתו. An expression of aridness. Comp. (v. 11) “withered (נצתה).”

have fled and are gone i.e., they are destined to go. For fifty-two years no one passed through Judah; from the exile of Zedekiah until the order of Cyrus, king of Persia, were fifty-two years. An allusion to the matter [is that the numerical value for] “and the beast” (בּהמה) amounts to fifty-two, and the computation is exact, in Tractate Megillah [should read: Yoma 54a].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.