Jeremiah 5:29

My Notes

What Does Jeremiah 5:29 Mean?

Jeremiah repeats God's rhetorical question: "Shall I not visit for these things? shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" The identical question from 5:9 returns — because the offenses have continued. The repetition is itself the judgment's warning: God asked the question before. The offenses didn't stop. The question returns.

The intervening catalog of sins (verses 26-28: wicked men setting traps for people, cages full of deceit, houses full of fraud, grown fat and sleek through injustice, refusing to judge the orphan's cause, declining to defend the poor) provides the specific 'these things' the question addresses. The visit God threatens is specifically provoked by economic exploitation and judicial corruption.

The word "such" (ka-zoth — like this, of this kind, this quality of) in "such a nation as this" means God identifies the nation by its behavior: not 'my chosen nation' or 'the covenant people' but 'a nation like this.' The identity is redefined by the conduct. The covenant name is replaced by the behavioral description. You're not 'my people' in this question. You're 'a nation like this.'

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does the repetition of this question (5:9 AND 5:29) teach about God's patience having a rhythm?
• 2.How does 'such a nation as this' (behavioral description replacing covenant name) describe identity forfeited by conduct?
• 3.What specific social sins (exploitation, judicial corruption, neglecting the vulnerable) provoke this question in your context?
• 4.If God asked this question about your community once and the behavior continued, is the question being asked again?

Devotional

The same question. Again. Shall I not visit? Shall my soul not be avenged? The repetition from 5:9 returns in 5:29 because the offenses that prompted the first asking haven't stopped. The question repeats because the sin repeats. God keeps asking because Israel keeps offending.

The specific sins between the two askings (verses 26-28) are economic and judicial: wicked men trapping people like birds. Houses full of deceit-funded wealth. Fat and sleek from profiting off others' vulnerability. The orphan's case deliberately not judged. The poor deliberately not defended. The sins aren't religious (idolatry) this time. They're social (exploitation). God's soul is as provoked by economic injustice as by spiritual unfaithfulness.

The identity shift — 'such a nation as this' instead of 'my people' — is the question's coldest detail. God describes Israel by its behavior, not by its covenant status. The name that should have produced pride (God's people) is replaced by the description that produces shame (a nation like this). When behavior contradicts identity, God uses the behavioral description. You're not 'my treasured possession' in this sentence. You're 'a nation that does these things.'

The repetition teaches that God's patience has a rhythm: the question is asked. Time passes. The offenses continue. The question is asked again. Each repetition means: I gave you time between the first asking and the second. You used the time to keep sinning rather than to repent. The repeated question is the evidence of exhausted patience.

If God asked the question once about your community, and the behavior hasn't changed, the question is being asked again. Right now. Shall I not visit for these things?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture