Curse and Blessing

This is what the Lord says:

The man who trusts in mankind,(A)
who makes human flesh his strength(B)
and turns his heart from the Lord is cursed.
He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;(C)
he cannot see when good comes
but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,
in a salt land where no one lives.(D)
The man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.(E)
He will be like a tree planted by water:(F)
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn’t fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.

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The One Who Trusts in Humankind Contrasted With the One Who Trusts in Yahweh

Thus says Yahweh,

“Cursed is the person who trusts in humankind
    and makes flesh his strength,[a]
    and turns aside his heart from Yahweh.
And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness,[b]
    and he will not see when good comes,
and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert,[c]
    in a land of salt flats,[d] where no one lives.
Blessed be the person who trusts in Yahweh,
    and Yahweh is his trust.
For he will be like a tree planted by water,
    and to the stream it sends its roots,
and it will not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves[e] will be luxuriant,
and in the year of drought it will not be anxious,
    and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 17:5 Literally “arm”
  2. Jeremiah 17:6 Or “Arabah”
  3. Jeremiah 17:6 Or “wilderness”
  4. Jeremiah 17:6 Hebrew “salt flat”
  5. Jeremiah 17:8 Hebrew “leaf”