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Jeremiah 17:9-19:8
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 17:9-19:8
English Standard Version
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 (A)“I the Lord search the heart
(B)and test the mind,[a]
(C)to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the (D)partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is (E)he who gets riches but not by justice;
(F)in the midst of his days they will leave him,
(G)and at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, (H)the hope of Israel,
(I)all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you[b] (J)shall be written in the earth,
for (K)they have forsaken (L)the Lord, the fountain of living water.
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 (M)Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for (N)you are my praise.
15 (O)Behold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
(P)You know (Q)what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
(R)you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 (S)Let those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
(T)let them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
(U)bring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!
Keep the Sabbath Holy
19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which (V)the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, (W)you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and (X)do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath (Y)or do any work, but (Z)keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet (AA)they did not listen or incline their ear, (AB)but stiffened their neck, that they (AC)might not hear and receive instruction.
24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and (AD)bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but (AE)keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then (AF)there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from (AG)the cities of Judah (AH)and the places around Jerusalem, (AI)from the land of Benjamin, (AJ)from the Shephelah, from the hill country, (AK)and from (AL)the Negeb, bringing (AM)burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and (AN)bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to (AO)keep the Sabbath day holy, (AP)and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will (AQ)kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall (AR)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (AS)shall not be quenched.’”
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to (AT)the potter's house, and there I will let you hear[c] my words.” 3 So I went down to (AU)the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was (AV)spoiled in the potter's hand, and (AW)he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, (AX)can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. (AY)Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will (AZ)pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, (BA)turns from its evil, (BB)I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will (BC)build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. (BD)Return, every one from his evil way, and (BE)amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 “But they say, (BF)‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to (BG)the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says the Lord:
(BH)Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done (BI)a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?[d]
Do the mountain waters run dry,[e]
the cold flowing streams?
15 (BJ)But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to (BK)false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
(BL)in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
(BM)not the highway,
16 making their land (BN)a horror,
a thing (BO)to be hissed at forever.
(BP)Everyone who passes by it is horrified
(BQ)and shakes his head.
17 (BR)Like the east wind (BS)I will scatter them
before the enemy.
(BT)I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they said, (BU)“Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, (BV)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. (BW)Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19 Hear me, O Lord,
and (BX)listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 (BY)Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet (BZ)they have dug a pit for my life.
(CA)Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (CB)deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless (CC)and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 (CD)May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For (CE)they have dug a pit to take me
(CF)and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet (CG)you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
(CH)Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
The Broken Flask
19 Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy (CI)a potter's earthenware (CJ)flask, and take some of (CK)the elders of the people and some of (CL)the elders of the priests, 2 and go out (CM)to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say, (CN)‘Hear the word of the Lord, (CO)O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that (CP)the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 4 (CQ)Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; (CR)and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 (CS)and have built the high places of Baal (CT)to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, (CU)which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— 6 therefore, (CV)behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or (CW)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And in this place (CX)I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, (CY)and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. (CZ)I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city (DA)a horror, (DB)a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:10 Hebrew kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:13 Hebrew me
- Jeremiah 18:2 Or will cause you to hear
- Jeremiah 18:14 Hebrew of the field
- Jeremiah 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up
Jeremiah 17:9-19:8
New International Version
Jeremiah 17:9-19:8
New International Version
9 The heart(A) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(B)
and examine the mind,(C)
to reward(D) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(E)
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.(F)
12 A glorious throne,(G) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(H) of Israel;
all who forsake(I) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(J)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(K)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(L)
save(M) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(N)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(O)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(P) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(Q) to me;
you are my refuge(R) in the day of disaster.(S)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction.(T)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[a] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(U) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(V) who come through these gates.(W) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(X) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(Y) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(Z) they were stiff-necked(AA) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(AB) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(AC) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(AD) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(AE) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(AF) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(AG) me to keep the Sabbath(AH) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(AI) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(AJ)
At the Potter’s House
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(AK) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(AL) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(AM) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(AN) and not inflict on it the disaster(AO) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(AP) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(AQ) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(AR) the good I had intended to do for it.(AS)
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(AT) for you and devising a plan(AU) against you. So turn(AV) from your evil ways,(AW) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(AX) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(AY) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(AZ)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(BA)
A most horrible(BB) thing has been done
by Virgin(BC) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?[b]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(BD) me;
they burn incense(BE) to worthless idols,(BF)
which made them stumble(BG) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(BH)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(BI)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(BJ)
and of lasting scorn;(BK)
all who pass by will be appalled(BL)
and will shake their heads.(BM)
17 Like a wind(BN) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(BO)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(BP) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(BQ) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(BR) nor the word from the prophets.(BS) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(BT) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(BU) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(BV)
Yet they have dug a pit(BW) for me.
Remember that I stood(BX) before you
and spoke in their behalf(BY)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(BZ)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(CA)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(CB)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(CC) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(CD) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(CE) to capture me
and have hidden snares(CF) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(CG) me.
Do not forgive(CH) their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.(CI)
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.(CJ) Take along some of the elders(CK) of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(CL) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings(CM) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster(CN) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.(CO) 4 For they have forsaken(CP) me and made this a place of foreign gods(CQ); they have burned incense(CR) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(CS) 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children(CT) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.(CU) 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth(CV) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(CW) but the Valley of Slaughter.(CX)
7 “‘In this place I will ruin[c] the plans(CY) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,(CZ) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses(DA) as food(DB) to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(DC) all who pass by will be appalled(DD) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(DE)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
- Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Jeremiah 19:7 The Hebrew for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar (see verses 1 and 10).
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.