Jeremiah 17
Legacy Standard Bible
The Deceitful Heart
17 The (A)sin of Judah is written down with an (B)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is (C)engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of [a]their altars,
2 As they remember their (D)children,
So they remember their altars and their [b](E)Asherim
By (F)green trees on the high hills.
3 O (G)mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will (H)give over your wealth and all your treasures for plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, (I)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your (J)enemies
In the (K)land which you do not know,
For you have (L)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5 Thus says Yahweh,
“(M)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (N)flesh his [c]strength,
And whose heart turns away from Yahweh.
6 And he will be like a (O)juniper in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (P)land of salt [d]which is not inhabited.
7 (Q)Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh
And whose (R)trust is Yahweh.
8 And he will be like a (S)tree planted by the water,
That sends forth its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (T)drought
Nor refrain from yielding fruit.
9 “The (U)heart is more (V)deceitful than all else
And is [e]desperately (W)sick;
Who can know it?
10 I, Yahweh, (X)search the heart;
I test the [f]inmost being,
Even (Y)to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his deeds.
11 As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who (Z)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in [g]the end he will be a (AA)wicked fool.”
12 (AB)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Yahweh, the (AC)hope of Israel,
All who (AD)forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn [h]away on earth will be (AE)written down
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even Yahweh.
14 (AF)Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed;
(AG)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my (AH)praise.
15 Behold, they keep (AI)saying to me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the [i]sickening day;
(AJ)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a (AK)terror to me;
You are my (AL)refuge in the day of calamity.
18 Let those who pursue me be (AM)put to shame, but as for me, (AN)let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
(AO)Bring on them a day of calamity,
And [j]crush them with twofold [k]crushing!
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy
19 Thus Yahweh said to me, “Go and stand in the [l]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say to them, ‘(AP)Listen to the word of Yahweh, (AQ)kings of Judah and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21 Thus says Yahweh, “(AR)Take care of yourselves, and (AS)do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day (AT)nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I (AU)commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they (AV)did not listen or incline their ears, but (AW)stiffened their necks in order not to listen or receive discipline.
24 “But it will be, if you (AX)listen carefully to Me,” declares Yahweh, “to (AY)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, (AZ)but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 (BA)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes [m](BB)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this (BC)city will be inhabited forever. 26 And they will come in from the (BD)cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the [n](BE)Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the (BF)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of Yahweh. 27 But (BG)if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then (BH)I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will (BI)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (BJ)not be quenched.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:1 As in ancient versions; M.T. your
- Jeremiah 17:2 Wooden symbols of a female deity
- Jeremiah 17:5 Lit arm
- Jeremiah 17:6 Lit and is not inhabited
- Jeremiah 17:9 Or incurably
- Jeremiah 17:10 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:11 Lit his
- Jeremiah 17:13 Lit away from Me
- Jeremiah 17:16 Or incurable
- Jeremiah 17:18 Lit break
- Jeremiah 17:18 Lit breaking, destruction
- Jeremiah 17:19 Lit gate of the sons of the people
- Jeremiah 17:25 Or inhabiting, cf. 17:25b
- Jeremiah 17:26 Or lowland
Jeremiah 17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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) 2 while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles[a] beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 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. 4 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)
5 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)
6 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)
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.(E)
8 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)
9 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)
15 See how they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”(K)
16 But I have not run away from being a shepherd[e] in your service,
nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Do not become a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster;(L)
18 Let my persecutors be shamed,
but do not let me be shamed;
let them be dismayed,
but do not let me be dismayed;
bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!(M)
Hallow the Sabbath Day
19 Thus said the Lord to me: Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates.(N) 21 Thus says the Lord: For the sake of your lives, take care that you do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.(O) 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(P) 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear; they stiffened their necks and would not hear or receive instruction.(Q)
24 But if you listen to me, says the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it,(R) 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings[f] who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city shall be inhabited forever.(S) 26 And people shall come from the towns of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord.(T) 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy and to carry in no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates; it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.(U)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.