Jeremiah 17-20
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.”’”
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying, 2 “Arise and (BK)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will make you hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was making something on the [o]wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was ruined in the hand of the potter, so he turned around and made it into another vessel, according to what was right in the eyes of the potter to make.
5 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares Yahweh. “Behold, like the (BL)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (BM)uproot, to tear down, or to make it perish; 8 (BN)but if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will [p](BO)relent concerning the calamity I planned to do against it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (BP)build up or to plant it; 10 but if it does (BQ)evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, then I will [q](BR)relent concerning the good which I promised, to do good to it. 11 So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am (BS)forming calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh (BT)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and do good in your ways and your deeds.”’ 12 But (BU)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the (BV)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says Yahweh,
‘(BW)Ask now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of [r]this?
The (BX)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (BY)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country?
Or is the cold flowing water from a strange land ever uprooted?
15 For (BZ)My people have forgotten Me;
(CA)They burn incense [s]to worthless gods,
And they [t]have stumbled [u]from their ways,
[v]From the (CB)ancient paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a (CC)highway,
16 To make their land an (CD)object of horror,
An object of perpetual (CE)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be [w]horrified
And (CF)shake his head.
17 Like an (CG)east wind I will (CH)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [x]show them (CI)My back and not My face
(CJ)In the day of their disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let us (CK)devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the (CL)law is not going to perish from the priest, nor (CM)counsel to the wise man, nor the divine (CN)word to the prophet! Come on and let us (CO)strike at him with our tongue, and let us (CP)give no heed to any of his words.”
19 Do give heed to me, O Yahweh,
And listen to the voice of those who contend against me!
20 (CQ)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (CR)dug a pit for [y]me.
Remember how I (CS)stood before You
To speak good on their behalf,
So as to turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore, (CT)give their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the [z]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (CU)childless and (CV)widowed.
Let their men also be [aa]smitten to death,
Their (CW)young men struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May an (CX)outcry be heard from their houses,
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(CY)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (CZ)hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet You, O Yahweh, know
All their [ab]deadly counsel against me;
(DA)Do not atone for their iniquity
Or blot out their sin from before You.
But may they be [ac](DB)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (DC)time of Your anger!
The Broken Jar
19 Thus says Yahweh, “Go and buy a (DD)potter’s earthenware (DE)jar, and take some of the (DF)elders of the people and some of the (DG)elders of the priests. 2 Then go out to the (DH)valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and there (DI)call out the words that I tell you 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O (DJ)kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring a (DK)calamity upon this place, at which the (DL)ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. 4 Because they have (DM)forsaken Me and have (DN)made this a foreign place and have burned incense in it to (DO)other gods, that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the (DP)blood of the innocent 5 and have built the (DQ)high places of Baal to burn their (DR)sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever come upon My heart, 6 therefore, behold, (DS)days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when this place will no longer be called (DT)Topheth or (DU)the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter. 7 I will (DV)empty out the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem to the point of destruction in this place, and (DW)I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their (DX)carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 8 I will also make this city an (DY)object of horror and of hissing; (DZ)everyone who passes by it will be [ad]horrified and hiss because of all its [ae]slaughtering. 9 I will make them (EA)eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them.”’
10 “Then you are to break the (EB)jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, 11 and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Just so will I (EC)break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will (ED)bury in Topheth [af]because there is no other place for burial. 12 This is what I will do to this place and its inhabitants,” declares Yahweh, “so as to make this city like Topheth. 13 And the (EE)houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be (EF)defiled like the place Topheth because of all the (EG)houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to (EH)all the heavenly host and (EI)poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where Yahweh had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the (EJ)court of the house of Yahweh and said to all the people: 15 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have spoken against it because they have (EK)stiffened their necks so (EL)as not to hear My words.’”
Yahweh Speaks Against Pashhur
20 Then Pashhur the priest, the son of (EM)Immer, who was (EN)ruling overseer in the house of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words; 2 and Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet (EO)struck and put him in the (EP)stocks that were at the upper (EQ)Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of Yahweh. 3 Now it happened that on the next day, Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. And Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name Yahweh has (ER)called you, but rather [ag](ES)Magor-missabib. 4 For thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am going to make you a (ET)terror to yourself and to all your friends; and while (EU)your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will (EV)give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take them away into (EW)exile to Babylon and will strike them down with the sword. 5 I will also give over all the (EX)wealth of this city, all the fruit of its labor, and all its precious things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the (EY)hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. 6 And you, (EZ)Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your (FA)friends to whom you have (FB)prophesied lies.’”
Jeremiah Curses the Day He Was Born
7 O Yahweh, You have enticed me, and I was enticed;
You were (FC)stronger than I, and You prevailed.
I have become a (FD)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (FE)mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (FF)call out violence and devastation
Because for me the (FG)word of Yahweh has [ah]resulted
In reproach and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not (FH)remember Him
Or speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (FI)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And (FJ)I cannot prevail.
10 For (FK)I have heard the bad report of many,
“(FL)Terror on every side!
(FM)Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!”
[ai]All my (FN)trusted friends,
Keeping watch for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be [aj]deceived, so that we may (FO)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”
11 But (FP)Yahweh is with me like a ruthless mighty one;
Therefore my (FQ)persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be utterly ashamed, because they have not prospered,
With an (FR)everlasting dishonor that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, O Yahweh of hosts, You who (FS)test the righteous,
Who see the [ak]mind and the heart;
Let me (FT)see Your vengeance on them,
For (FU)to You I have revealed my cause.
13 (FV)Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh!
For He has (FW)delivered the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the (FX)day when I was born;
Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the good news
To my father, saying,
“A [al](FY)baby boy has been born to you!”
And made him very glad.
16 But let that man be like the cities
Which Yahweh (FZ)overthrew without [am]relenting,
And let him hear an (GA)outcry in the morning
And a [an]shout of war at noon,
17 Because he did not (GB)put me to death from the womb,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb ever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come forth from the womb
To (GC)look on trouble and sorrow,
So that my (GD)days have been spent in (GE)shame?
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 18:3 Lit pair of stone discs
- Jeremiah 18:8 Or regret, cf. 1 Sam 15:11, 29, 3
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit regret
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 As in ancient versions; Heb caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:15 Or in
- Jeremiah 18:15 Or in
- Jeremiah 18:16 Or desolate, cf. Lev 26:32
- Jeremiah 18:17 As in ancient versions; M.T. look them in the back and not in the face
- Jeremiah 18:20 Lit my soul
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit hands of
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit killed
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit unto death
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit ones made to stumble
- Jeremiah 19:8 Or desolate, cf. Lev 26:32
- Jeremiah 19:8 Lit striking
- Jeremiah 19:11 Or until there is no place left to bury
- Jeremiah 20:3 Lit terror on every side
- Jeremiah 20:8 Lit become
- Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace
- Jeremiah 20:10 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:12 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 20:15 Lit male child
- Jeremiah 20:16 Or regret
- Jeremiah 20:16 Or trumpet blast
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