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17 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron,
    and with the point of a diamond.
It is engraved on the tablet of their heart,
    and on the horns of your altars.
Even their children remember their altars
    and their Asherah poles by the green trees on the high hills.
My mountain in the field,
    I will give your substance and all your treasures for a plunder,
    and your high places, because of sin, throughout all your borders.
You, even of yourself, will discontinue from your heritage that I gave you.
    I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you don’t know,
    for you have kindled a fire in my anger which will burn forever.”

Yahweh says:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man,
    relies on strength of flesh,
    and whose heart departs from Yahweh.
For he will be like a bush in the desert,
    and will not see when good comes,
but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
    an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh,
    and whose confidence is in Yahweh.
For he will be as a tree planted by the waters,
    who spreads out its roots by the river,
and will not fear when heat comes,
    but its leaf will be green,
and will not be concerned in the year of drought.
    It won’t cease from yielding fruit.
The heart is deceitful above all things
    and it is exceedingly corrupt.
    Who can know it?

10 “I, Yahweh, search the mind.
    I try the heart,
even to give every man according to his ways,
    according to the fruit of his doings.”

11 As the partridge that sits on eggs which she has not laid,
    so is he who gets riches, and not by right.
In the middle of his days, they will leave him.
    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 Yahweh, the hope of Israel,
    all who forsake you will be disappointed.
Those who depart from me will be written in the earth,
    because they have forsaken Yahweh,
    the spring of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed.
    Save me, and I will be saved;
    for you are my praise.
15 Behold, they ask me,
    “Where is Yahweh’s word?
    Let it be fulfilled now.”
16 As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you.
    I haven’t desired the woeful day. You know.
    That which came out of my lips was before your face.
17 Don’t be a terror to me.
    You are my refuge in the day of evil.
18 Let them be disappointed who persecute me,
    but let not me be disappointed.
Let them be dismayed,
    but don’t let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of evil,
    and destroy them with double destruction.

19 Yahweh said this to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. 20 Tell them, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, you kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: 21 Yahweh says, “Be careful, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Don’t carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work, but make the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they didn’t listen. They didn’t turn their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, and might not receive instruction. 24 It will happen, if you diligently listen to me,” says Yahweh, “to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to make the Sabbath day holy, to do no work therein; 25 then there will enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on David’s throne, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city will remain forever. 26 They will come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country, and from the South, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, meal offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving, to Yahweh’s house. 27 But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem. It will not be quenched.”’”

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)
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)

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
  5. 17.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  6. 17.25 Cn: Heb kings and officials