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Judah’s Sin and Punishment

17 The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars,(A) while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles[a] beside every green tree and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sin[b] throughout all your territory. By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.(B)

Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
    and make mere flesh their strength,
    whose hearts turn away from the Lord.(C)
They shall be like a shrub in the desert
    and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.(D)

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.(E)
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
    sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
    and it does not cease to bear fruit.(F)

The heart is devious above all else;
    it is perverse—
    who can understand it?(G)
10 I the Lord test the mind
    and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
    according to the fruit of their doings.(H)

11 Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay,
    so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in midlife it will leave them,
    and at their end they will prove to be fools.

12 O glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
    shrine of our sanctuary!
13 O hope of Israel! O Lord!
    All who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you[c] shall be recorded in the underworld,[d]
    for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the Lord.(I)

Jeremiah Prays for Vindication

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
    save me, and I shall be saved,
    for you are my praise.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 17.2 Or Asherahs
  2. 17.3 Cn: Heb spoil, your high places for sin
  3. 17.13 Heb me
  4. 17.13 Or in the earth

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)

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.(AA)

12 A glorious throne,(AB) exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AC) of Israel;
    all who forsake(AD) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AE)
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.(AF)

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AG)
    save(AH) me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.(AI)

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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