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Jeremiah 17
New International Version
Jeremiah 17
New International Version
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.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a](D)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(E)
3 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)
4 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.”
5 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)
6 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.
7 “But blessed(Q) is the one who trusts(R) in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 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)
9 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)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(AJ)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(AK) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(AL) to me;
you are my refuge(AM) in the day of disaster.(AN)
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.(AO)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(AP) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(AQ) who come through these gates.(AR) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(AS) 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.(AT) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(AU) they were stiff-necked(AV) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(AW) 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(AX) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(AY) 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.(AZ) 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,(BA) 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(BB) me to keep the Sabbath(BC) 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(BD) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BE)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
Jeremiah 17
The Message
Jeremiah 17
The Message
The Heart Is Hopelessly Dark and Deceitful
17 1-2 “Judah’s sin is engraved
with a steel chisel,
A steel chisel with a diamond point—
engraved on their granite hearts,
engraved on the stone corners of their altars.
The evidence against them is plain to see:
sex-and-religion altars and sacred sex shrines
Anywhere there’s a grove of trees,
anywhere there’s an available hill.
3-4 “I’ll use your mountains as roadside stands
for giving away everything you have.
All your ‘things’ will serve as reparations
for your sins all over the country.
You’ll lose your gift of land,
The inheritance I gave you.
I’ll make you slaves of your enemies
in a far-off and strange land.
My anger is hot and blazing and fierce,
and no one will put it out.”
* * *
5-6 God’s Message:
“Cursed is the strong one
who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
and sets God aside as dead weight.
He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
in a land where nothing grows.
7-8 “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.
* * *
9-10 “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”
* * *
11 Like a cowbird that cheats by laying its eggs
in another bird’s nest
Is the person who gets rich by cheating.
When the eggs hatch, the deceit is exposed.
What a fool he’ll look like then!
* * *
12-13 From early on your Sanctuary was set high,
a throne of glory, exalted!
O God, you’re the hope of Israel.
All who leave you end up as fools,
Deserters with nothing to show for their lives,
who walk off from God, fountain of living waters—
and wind up dead!
* * *
14-18 God, pick up the pieces.
Put me back together again.
You are my praise!
Listen to how they talk about me:
“So where’s this ‘Word of God’?
We’d like to see something happen!”
But it wasn’t my idea to call for Doomsday.
I never wanted trouble.
You know what I’ve said.
It’s all out in the open before you.
Don’t add to my troubles.
Give me some relief!
Let those who harass me be harassed, not me.
Let them be disgraced, not me.
Bring down upon them the day of doom.
Lower the boom. Boom!
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy
19-20 God’s Message to me: “Go stand in the People’s Gate, the one used by Judah’s kings as they come and go, and then proceed in turn to all the gates of Jerusalem. Tell them, ‘Listen, you kings of Judah, listen to God’s Message—and all you people who go in and out of these gates, you listen!
21-23 “‘This is God’s Message. Be careful, if you care about your lives, not to desecrate the Sabbath by turning it into just another workday, lugging stuff here and there. Don’t use the Sabbath to do business as usual. Keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. They never did it, as you know. They paid no attention to what I said and went about their own business, refusing to be guided or instructed by me.
24-26 “‘But now, take seriously what I tell you. Quit desecrating the Sabbath by busily going about your own work, and keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing business as usual. Then kings from the time of David and their officials will continue to ride through these gates on horses or in chariots. The people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem will continue to pass through them, too. Jerusalem will always be filled with people. People will stream in from all over Judah, from the province of Benjamin, from the Jerusalem suburbs, from foothills and mountains and deserts. They’ll come to worship, bringing all kinds of offerings—animals, grains, incense, expressions of thanks—into the Sanctuary of God.
27 “‘But if you won’t listen to me, won’t keep the Sabbath holy, won’t quit using the Sabbath for doing your own work, busily going in and out of the city gates on your self-important business, then I’ll burn the gates down. In fact, I’ll burn the whole city down, palaces and all, with a fire nobody will be able to put out!’”
Jeremiah 17
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Jeremiah 17
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
17 The sin of Judah is written with a pen or stylus of iron and with the point of a diamond; it is engraved on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars,
2 While their children [earnestly] remember their [heathen] altars and their Asherim [wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah] beside the green trees upon the high hills.
3 O [Jerusalem] My mountain in the field, I will give your wealth and all your treasures to the spoil and your high places for sin [as the price of your sin] throughout all your territory.
4 And you, through your own fault, will loosen your hand and discontinue from your heritage which I gave you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land which you do not know, for you have kindled a fire in My anger which will burn throughout the ages.
5 Thus says the Lord: Cursed [with great evil] is the strong man who trusts in and relies on frail man, making weak [human] flesh his arm, and whose mind and heart turn aside from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like a shrub or a person naked and destitute in the desert; and he shall not see any good come, but shall dwell in the parched places in the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
7 [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?(A)
10 I the Lord search the mind, I try the heart, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood which she did not hatch and sits on eggs which she has not laid, so is he who gets riches by unjust means and not by right. He will leave them, or they will leave him, in the midst of his days, 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 (the temple).
13 O Lord, the Hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be put to shame. They who depart from You and me [Your prophet] shall [disappear like] writing upon the ground, because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.
15 Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord [predicting the disaster that you said would befall us]? Let it come now!
16 But as for me, I have not sought to escape from being a shepherd after You, nor have I desired the woeful day [of judgment]; You know that. Whatever I said was spoken in Your presence and was from You.
17 Be not a terror to me; You are my refuge and my hope in the day of evil.
18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me, but let me not be put to shame; let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed. Bring on them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
19 Thus said the Lord to me: Go and stand in the gate of the sons of the people, through which the kings of Judah enter and through which they go out, and also [stand] in all the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.
21 Thus says the Lord: Take heed to yourselves and for the sake of your lives bear no burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem.
22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy (set apart to the worship of God), as I commanded your fathers.
23 Yet they would not listen and obey or incline their ears; but they stiffened their necks, that they might not hear and might not receive instruction.
24 But if you diligently listen to and obey Me, says the Lord, and bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy (set apart to the worship of God), to do no work on it,
25 Then there will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes who will sit upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses—the kings and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city will be inhabited and last throughout the ages.
26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places round about Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country, and from the South (the Negeb), bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, cereal offerings and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord.
27 But if you will not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy (set apart to the worship of God), and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem [with one] on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in her gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Jeremiah 17
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 17
New Living Translation
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
17 “The sin of Judah
is inscribed with an iron chisel—
engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts
and on the corners of their altars.
2 Even their children go to worship
at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
and on every high hill.
3 So I will hand over my holy mountain—
along with all your wealth and treasures
and your pagan shrines—
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
4 The wonderful possession I have reserved for you
will slip from your hands.
I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.”
Wisdom from the Lord
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah’s Trust in the Lord
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid,
so are those who get their wealth by unjust means.
At midlife they will lose their riches;
in the end, they will become poor old fools.
12 But we worship at your throne—
eternal, high, and glorious!
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who turn away from you will be disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
14 O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!
15 People scoff at me and say,
“What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about?
Why don’t your predictions come true?”
16 Lord, I have not abandoned my job
as a shepherd for your people.
I have not urged you to send disaster.
You have heard everything I’ve said.
17 Lord, don’t terrorize me!
You alone are my hope in the day of disaster.
18 Bring shame and dismay on all who persecute me,
but don’t let me experience shame and dismay.
Bring a day of terror on them.
Yes, bring double destruction upon them!
Observing the Sabbath
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem, first in the gate where the king goes in and out, and then in each of the other gates. 20 Say to all the people, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem. 21 This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.
24 “‘But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, 25 then kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride in and out among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever. 26 And from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the western foothills[a] and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings, frankincense, and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple.
27 “‘But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.’”
Footnotes
- 17:26 Hebrew the Shephelah.
Jeremiah 17
New King James Version
Jeremiah 17
New King James Version
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
17 “The sin of Judah is (A)written with a (B)pen of iron;
With the point of a diamond it is (C)engraved
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of your altars,
2 While their children remember
Their altars and their (D)wooden[a] images
By the green trees on the high hills.
3 O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
4 And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
And I will cause you to serve your enemies
In (E)the land which you do not know;
For (F)you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the Lord:
(G)“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes (H)flesh his [b]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be (I)like a shrub in the desert,
And (J)shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
(K)In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed(L) is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be (M)like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not [c]fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The (N)heart is deceitful above all things,
And [d]desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, (O)search the heart,
I test the [e]mind,
(P)Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “As a partridge that [f]broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It (Q)will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be (R)a fool.”
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, (S)the hope of Israel,
(T)All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be (U)written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The (V)fountain of living waters.”
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For (W)You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
(X)“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, (Y)I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
(Z)You are my hope in the day of doom.
18 (AA)Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But (AB)do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And (AC)destroy[g] them with double destruction!
Hallow the Sabbath Day
19 Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, (AD)‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: (AE)“Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I (AF)commanded your fathers. 23 (AG)But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but [h]made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
24 “And it shall be, (AH)if you heed Me carefully,” says the Lord, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the (AI)Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, 25 (AJ)then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from (AK)the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from (AL)the [i]lowland, from the mountains and from (AM)the [j]South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing (AN)sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord.
27 “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then (AO)I will kindle a fire in its gates, (AP)and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be (AQ)quenched.” ’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Jeremiah 17:5 Lit. arm
- Jeremiah 17:8 Qr., Tg. see
- Jeremiah 17:9 Or incurably sick
- Jeremiah 17:10 Most secret parts, lit. kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:11 Sits on eggs
- Jeremiah 17:18 Lit. crush
- Jeremiah 17:23 Were stubborn
- Jeremiah 17:26 Heb. shephelah
- Jeremiah 17:26 Heb. Negev
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.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.