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Judah’s Sin and Punishment

17 “The sin of Judah
    is inscribed with an iron chisel—
engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts
    and on the corners of their altars.
Even their children go to worship
    at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
    and on every high hill.
So I will hand over my holy mountain—
    along with all your wealth and treasures
    and your pagan shrines—
as plunder to your enemies,
    for sin runs rampant in your land.
The wonderful possession I have reserved for you
    will slip from your hands.
I will tell your enemies to take you
    as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
    that will burn forever.”

Wisdom from the Lord

This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.”

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17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(A)
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(B)
    and on the horns(C) of their altars.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[a](D)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(E)
My mountain in the land
    and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(F)
    together with your high places,(G)
    because of sin throughout your country.(H)
Through your own fault you will lose
    the inheritance(I) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(J)
    in a land(K) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
    and it will burn(L) forever.”

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(M)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(N)
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(O) of the desert,
    in a salt(P) land where no one lives.

“But blessed(Q) is the one who trusts(R) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.(S)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(T)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”(U)

The heart(V) is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart(W)
    and examine the mind,(X)
to reward(Y) each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”(Z)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your

31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.

33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

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31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant(A)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant(B)
    I made with their ancestors(C)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,(D)
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband(E) to[a] them,[b]
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds(F)
    and write it on their hearts.(G)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.(H)
34 No longer will they teach(I) their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know(J) me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive(K) their wickedness
    and will remember their sins(L) no more.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
  2. Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master