Jeremiah 16:19-17:14

New American Standard Bible

¹⁹Lord, my ^(A)strength and my stronghold,
And my ^(B)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the ^(C)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but ^(D)falsehood,
Futility, and ^[a]^(E)things of no benefit.”
²⁰Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are ^(F)not gods!

²¹“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will ^(G)make them know
My ^[b]power and My might;
And they will ^(H)know that My name is the Lord.”

The Deceitful Heart

17 The ^(I)sin of Judah is written with an ^(J)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is ^(K)engraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of ^[c]their altars,
²As they remember their ^(L)children,
So they remember their altars and their ^[d]^(M)Asherim
By ^(N)green trees on the high hills.
³^(O)Mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will ^(P)turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
⁴And you will, even of yourself, ^(Q)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your ^(R)enemies
In the ^(S)land which you do not know;
For you have ^(T)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.

⁵This is what the Lord says:
“^(U)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes ^(V)flesh his ^[e]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶For he will be like a ^(W)bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A ^(X)land of salt that is not inhabited.
⁷^(Y)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose ^(Z)trust is the Lord.
⁸For he will be like a ^(AA)tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of ^(AB)drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.

⁹“The ^(AC)heart is more ^(AD)deceitful than all else
And is desperately ^(AE)sick;
Who can understand it?
¹⁰I, the Lord, ^(AF)search the heart,
I test the ^[f]mind,
^(AG)To give to each person according to his ways,
According to the ^[g]results of his deeds.
¹¹As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who ^(AH)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in ^[h]the end he will be a ^(AI)fool.”

¹²^(AJ)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³Lord, the ^(AK)hope of Israel,
All who ^(AL)abandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn ^[i]away on earth will be ^(AM)written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
¹⁴^(AN)Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
^(AO)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my ^(AP)praise.