Preparing the codebase for 3.9
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 715d3f3..c610f09 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
 <dependency>
   <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
   <artifactId>commons-lang3</artifactId>
-  <version>3.8.1</version>
+  <version>3.9</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 
diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES.txt b/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
index 308df77..15bbb22 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
@@ -1,18 +1,51 @@
+                        Apache Commons Lang
+                            Version 3.9
+                           Release Notes
 
-Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
-contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
-this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
-The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
-(the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
-the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
 
-http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+INTRODUCTION:
 
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
+This document contains the release notes for the 3.9 version of Apache Commons Lang.
+Commons Lang is a set of utility functions and reusable components that should be of use in any 
+Java environment.
+
+Lang 3.9 and onwards now targets Java 8.0, making use of features that arrived with Java 8.0.
+
+For the advice on upgrading from 2.x to 3.x, see the following page: 
+
+    http://commons.apache.org/lang/article3_0.html
+
+Apache Commons Lang, a package of Java utility classes for the
+classes that are in java.lang's hierarchy, or are considered to be so
+standard as to justify existence in java.lang.
+
+New features and bug fixes. Requires Java 8, supports Java 9, 10, 11
+
+Changes in this version include:
+
+New features:
+o LANG-1442: Javadoc pointing to Commons RNG.
+o            Adding the Functions class.
+o LANG-1411: Add isEmpty method to ObjectUtils Thanks to Alexander Tsvetkov.
+o LANG-1422: Add null-safe StringUtils.valueOf(char[]) to delegate to String.valueOf(char[])
+o LANG-1427: Add API org.apache.commons.lang3.SystemUtils.isJavaVersionAtMost(JavaVersion)
+
+
+Changes:
+o LANG-1416: Add more SystemUtils.IS_JAVA_XX variants.
+o LANG-1416: Update to JUnit 5
+o LANG-1417: Add @FunctionalInterface to ThreadPredicate and ThreadGroupPredicate
+o LANG-1415: Update Java Language requirement to 1.8
+o LANG-1436: Consolidate the StringUtils equals and equalsIgnoreCase Javadoc and implementation
+o            (doc) Fix javadoc for 'startIndex' parameter of StringUtils.join() methods. GitHub PR #412. Thanks to Andrei Troie aft90.
+
+
+Historical list of changes: http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-lang/changes-report.html
+
+For complete information on Apache Commons Lang, including instructions on how to submit bug reports,
+patches, or suggestions for improvement, see the Apache Apache Commons Lang website:
+
+http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-lang/
 
 =============================================================================
 
@@ -45,15 +78,6 @@
 Fixed Bugs:
 o LANG-1419: Restore BundleSymbolicName for OSGi
 
-
-
-Historical list of changes: http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-lang/changes-report.html
-
-For complete information on Apache Commons Lang, including instructions on how to submit bug reports,
-patches, or suggestions for improvement, see the Apache Apache Commons Lang website:
-
-http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-lang/
-
 =============================================================================
 
                         Apache Commons Lang
@@ -64,12 +88,12 @@
 INTRODUCTION:
 
 This document contains the release notes for the 3.8 version of Apache Commons Lang.
-Commons Lang is a set of utility functions and reusable components that should be of use in any 
+Commons Lang is a set of utility functions and reusable components that should be of use in any
 Java environment.
 
 Lang 3.0 and onwards now targets Java 7.0, making use of features that arrived with Java 7.0.
 
-For the advice on upgrading from 2.x to 3.x, see the following page: 
+For the advice on upgrading from 2.x to 3.x, see the following page:
 
     http://commons.apache.org/lang/article3_0.html
 
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 2d0b892..7dd5456 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
   </parent>
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <artifactId>commons-lang3</artifactId>
-  <version>3.9-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  <version>3.9</version>
   <name>Apache Commons Lang</name>
 
   <inceptionYear>2001</inceptionYear>
diff --git a/src/changes/changes.xml b/src/changes/changes.xml
index 3f97021..6d03356 100644
--- a/src/changes/changes.xml
+++ b/src/changes/changes.xml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
   </properties>
   <body>
 
-  <release version="3.9" date="????-??-??" description="??">
+  <release version="3.9" date="2019-04-09" description="New features and bug fixes. Requires Java 8, supports Java 9, 10, 11">
     <action issue="LANG-1442" type="add" dev="chtompki">Javadoc pointing to Commons RNG.</action>
     <action issue="LANG-1416" type="update" dev="britter">Add more SystemUtils.IS_JAVA_XX variants.</action>
     <action                   type="add" dev="jochen">Adding the Functions class.</action>
diff --git a/src/site/xdoc/download_lang.xml b/src/site/xdoc/download_lang.xml
index ce3bb3f..f2b3238 100644
--- a/src/site/xdoc/download_lang.xml
+++ b/src/site/xdoc/download_lang.xml
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@
           It is essential that you
           <a href="https://www.apache.org/info/verification.html">verify the integrity</a>
           of downloaded files, preferably using the <code>PGP</code> signature (<code>*.asc</code> files);
-          failing that using the <code>SHA256</code> hash (<code>*.sha256</code> checksum files) or
+          failing that using the <code>SHA512</code> hash (<code>*.sha512</code> checksum files) or
           <code>SHA1</code> hash (<code>*.sha1</code> checksum files).
         </p>
         <p>
@@ -112,32 +112,32 @@
         </p>
       </subsection>
     </section>
-    <section name="Apache Commons Lang 3.8.1 (Java 7+)">
+    <section name="Apache Commons Lang 3.9 (Java 8+)">
       <subsection name="Binaries">
         <table>
           <tr>
-            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.tar.gz">commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.tar.gz</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.tar.gz.sha256">sha256</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.tar.gz.asc">pgp</a></td>
+            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.9-bin.tar.gz">commons-lang3-3.9-bin.tar.gz</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.9-bin.tar.gz.sha512">sha512</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.9-bin.tar.gz.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
           <tr>
-            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.zip">commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.zip</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.zip.sha256">sha256</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.8.1-bin.zip.asc">pgp</a></td>
+            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.9-bin.zip">commons-lang3-3.9-bin.zip</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.9-bin.zip.sha512">sha512</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang3-3.9-bin.zip.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
         </table>
       </subsection>
       <subsection name="Source">
         <table>
           <tr>
-            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.tar.gz">commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.tar.gz</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.tar.gz.sha256">sha256</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.tar.gz.asc">pgp</a></td>
+            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.9-src.tar.gz">commons-lang3-3.9-src.tar.gz</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.9-src.tar.gz.sha512">sha512</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.9-src.tar.gz.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
           <tr>
-            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.zip">commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.zip</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.zip.sha256">sha256</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.8.1-src.zip.asc">pgp</a></td>
+            <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.9-src.zip">commons-lang3-3.9-src.zip</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.9-src.zip.sha512">sha512</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang3-3.9-src.zip.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
         </table>
       </subsection>
@@ -147,12 +147,12 @@
         <table>
           <tr>
             <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.tar.gz">commons-lang-2.6-bin.tar.gz</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.tar.gz.sha1">sha1</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.tar.gz.sha512">sha512</a></td>
             <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.tar.gz.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
           <tr>
             <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.zip">commons-lang-2.6-bin.zip</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.zip.sha1">sha1</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.zip.sha512">sha512</a></td>
             <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/binaries/commons-lang-2.6-bin.zip.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
         </table>
@@ -161,12 +161,12 @@
         <table>
           <tr>
             <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.tar.gz">commons-lang-2.6-src.tar.gz</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.tar.gz.sha1">sha1</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.tar.gz.sha512">sha512</a></td>
             <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.tar.gz.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
           <tr>
             <td><a href="[preferred]/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.zip">commons-lang-2.6-src.zip</a></td>
-            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.zip.sha1">sha1</a></td>
+            <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.zip.sha512">sha512</a></td>
             <td><a href="https://www.apache.org/dist/commons/lang/source/commons-lang-2.6-src.zip.asc">pgp</a></td>
           </tr>
         </table>
diff --git a/src/site/xdoc/index.xml b/src/site/xdoc/index.xml
index 0871468..08b1915 100644
--- a/src/site/xdoc/index.xml
+++ b/src/site/xdoc/index.xml
@@ -50,8 +50,7 @@
 The Javadoc API documents are available online:
 </p>
 <ul>
-<!--TODO: (from:Rob Tompkins) when upversioning the following to 3.9, change parenthetical to "[Java 8 and up]" -->
-<li>The <a href="javadocs/api-3.8.1/index.html">current stable release 3.8.1</a> [Java 7 and up]</li>
+<li>The <a href="javadocs/api-3.9/index.html">current stable release 3.9</a> [Java 8 and up]</li>
 <li>The <a href="javadocs/api-2.6/index.html">legacy release 2.6</a> [Java 1.2 and up]</li>
 <li>Older releases - see the <a href="release-history.html">Release History</a> page</li>
 </ul>
@@ -62,10 +61,10 @@
 </section>
 <!-- ================================================== -->
 <section name="Release Information">
-<p>The latest stable release of Lang is 3.8.1. You may: </p>
+<p>The latest stable release of Lang is 3.9. You may: </p>
 <ul>
-<li>Download <a href="http://commons.apache.org/lang/download_lang.cgi">3.8.1</a></li>
-<li>Read the <a href="release-notes/RELEASE-NOTES-3.8.1.txt">3.8.1 release notes</a></li>
+<li>Download <a href="http://commons.apache.org/lang/download_lang.cgi">3.9</a></li>
+<li>Read the <a href="release-notes/RELEASE-NOTES-3.9.txt">3.9 release notes</a></li>
 <li>Examine the <a href="article3_0.html">2.x to 3.0 upgrade notes</a></li>
 <li>Compare major versions via the <a href="lang2-lang3-clirr-report.html">Lang2 to Lang3 Clirr report</a></li>
 </ul>
@@ -75,7 +74,7 @@
 &lt;dependency&gt;
   &lt;groupId&gt;org.apache.commons&lt;/groupId&gt;
   &lt;artifactId&gt;commons-lang3&lt;/artifactId&gt;
-  &lt;version&gt;3.8.1&lt;/version&gt;
+  &lt;version&gt;3.9&lt;/version&gt;
 &lt;/dependency&gt;
 </pre>
 </p>
diff --git a/src/site/xdoc/release-history.xml b/src/site/xdoc/release-history.xml
index 887fc97..0e05258 100644
--- a/src/site/xdoc/release-history.xml
+++ b/src/site/xdoc/release-history.xml
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@
           <th>Version</th><th>Release date</th><th>Required Java Version</th><th>Javadoc</th><th>Release notes</th>
         </tr>
         <tr>
+          <td>3.9</td><td>2018-04-09</td><td>8</td><td><a href="javadocs/api-3.9/">api-3.9</a></td><td><a href="release-notes/RELEASE-NOTES-3.9.txt">release notes for 3.9</a></td>
+        </tr>
+        <tr>
           <td>3.8.1</td><td>2018-09-19</td><td>7</td><td><a href="javadocs/api-3.8.1/">api-3.8.1</a></td><td><a href="release-notes/RELEASE-NOTES-3.8.1.txt">release notes for 3.8.1</a></td>
         </tr>
         <tr>