Jeremiah 17
International Children’s Bible
Judah’s Guilty Heart
17 “The sin of the people of Judah is written with an iron tool.
Their sins were cut into stone with a hard point.
That stone is their hearts.
Their sins were cut into the corners of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars to idols and their Asherah idols.
They remember the altars under the green trees
and on the high hills.
3 They remember the altars on my mountain and in the open country.
I will give your wealth and treasures
to other people.
And they will destroy the places of worship in your country.
You sinned by worshiping at those places.
4 You will lose the land I gave you.
And it is your own fault.
I will let your enemies take you as their slaves.
You will be slaves in a land you have never known.
This is because you have made my anger burn like a hot fire.
And it will burn forever.”
Trusting in Man or God
5 This is what the Lord says:
“A curse will be placed on those who trust other people.
It will happen to those who depend on people for strength.
Those are the ones who have stopped trusting the Lord.
6 They are like a bush in a desert.
It grows in a land where no one lives.
It is in a hot and dry land with bad soil.
They don’t know about the good things that God can give.
7 “But the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed.
The Lord will show him that he can be trusted.
8 He will be strong, like a tree planted near water.
That tree has large roots that find the water.
It is not afraid when the days are hot.
Its leaves are always green.
It does not worry in a year when no rain comes.
That tree always produces fruit.”
9 “More than anything else, a person’s mind is evil.
It cannot be healed.
Who can understand it?
10 But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart.
I can test a person’s mind.
So I can decide what each one deserves.
I can give each one the right payment for what he does.”
11 Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay.
That bird is like the man who gets rich by cheating.
When that man’s life is half finished, he will lose his riches.
At the end of his life, it will be clear he was a fool.
12 From the beginning, our Temple has been honored
as a glorious throne for God.
13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel.
Those who leave you will be shamed.
A person who quits following the Lord will be like a name written in the dust.
That is because he has left the Lord.
The Lord is the spring of living water.
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
14 Lord, heal me, and I will truly be healed.
Save me, and I will truly be saved.
Lord, you are the one I praise.
15 The people of Judah keep asking me,
“Where is the word from the Lord?
Let’s see that message come true!”
16 Lord, I didn’t run away from being the shepherd you wanted.
I didn’t want the terrible day to come.
You know everything I have said.
You see all that is happening.
17 Lord, don’t bring terror to me.
I run to you for safety in times of trouble.
18 Make those who are hurting me be ashamed.
But don’t bring shame to me.
Let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring the day of disaster on my enemies.
Destroy them, and destroy them again.
Keeping the Sabbath Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the People’s Gate of Jerusalem. This is where the kings of Judah go in and out. And then go to all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20 Say to them there: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah. Listen, all you people of Judah and all who come through these gates into Jerusalem! 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day. And don’t bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. 22 Don’t take a load out of your houses on the Sabbath. Don’t do any work on that day. Keep the Sabbath as a holy day. I gave this same command to your ancestors. 23 But your ancestors did not listen. They did not pay attention to me. They were very stubborn. I punished them, but it didn’t do any good. They did not listen to me. 24 But you must be careful to obey me, says the Lord. You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must keep the Sabbath as a holy day. You must not do any work on that day.
25 “‘If you obey this command, this is what will happen: Kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of Jerusalem with their officers. They will come riding in chariots and on horses. The people of Judah and Jerusalem will be with them. And the city of Jerusalem will have people living in it forever! 26 People will come to Jerusalem from the villages around it and from the towns of Judah. They will come from the land of Benjamin. They will come from the western mountain slopes and from the mountains. And they will come from southern Judah. They will all bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense and offerings to show thanks to God. They will bring these to the Temple of the Lord. 27 But you must obey me and keep the Sabbath day as a holy day. You must not carry any loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. If you do, I will start a fire that cannot be put out. It will start at the gates of Jerusalem. And it will burn until it burns even the strong towers!’”
Jeremiah 17
English Standard Version
The Sin of Judah
17 “The sin of Judah is written with (A)a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on (B)the tablet of their heart, and on (C)the horns of their altars, 2 while (D)their children remember their altars and their (E)Asherim, (F)beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 (G)on the mountains in the open country. (H)Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, (I)and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, (J)for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man (K)who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,[a]
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 (L)He is like a shrub in the desert,
(M)and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in (N)an uninhabited salt land.
7 (O)“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
(P)whose trust is the Lord.
8 (Q)He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 (R)“I the Lord search the heart
(S)and test the mind,[b]
(T)to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the (U)partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is (V)he who gets riches but not by justice;
(W)in the midst of his days they will leave him,
(X)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, (Y)the hope of Israel,
(Z)all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you[c] (AA)shall be written in the earth,
for (AB)they have forsaken (AC)the Lord, the fountain of living water.
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 (AD)Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for (AE)you are my praise.
15 (AF)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.
(AG)You know (AH)what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
(AI)you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 (AJ)Let those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
(AK)let them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
(AL)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 (AM)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, (AN)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 (AO)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 (AP)or do any work, but (AQ)keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet (AR)they did not listen or incline their ear, (AS)but stiffened their neck, that they (AT)might not hear and receive instruction.
24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and (AU)bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but (AV)keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then (AW)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 (AX)the cities of Judah (AY)and the places around Jerusalem, (AZ)from the land of Benjamin, (BA)from the Shephelah, from the hill country, (BB)and from (BC)the Negeb, bringing (BD)burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and (BE)bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to (BF)keep the Sabbath day holy, (BG)and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will (BH)kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall (BI)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (BJ)shall not be quenched.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:5 Hebrew arm
- Jeremiah 17:10 Hebrew kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:13 Hebrew me
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
