...I think it would be better to say that it is meaningless in English, and it is from the context that we understand it as punishment. For this is a Hebrew idiom which has been translated literally into English - for "visit" is used fairly concordantly for PQD in older Bible versions. It is hard to know exactly what this idiom meant, although there do seem to be cases where it must mean some kind of punishment. But the meaning of the Hebrew verb is more like "pay attention to", so perhaps "deal with" might be more appropriate that "punish". Of course dealing with sin does often involve punishing it, but that is not necessarily what is made explicit in this particular verse.
Of course, the phrase *visit inquity upon* is pretty archaic terminology but it clearly means *punish*.
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.