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True Wisdom

    Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
    who makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.(A)
He is like a barren bush in the wasteland
    that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in lava beds in the wilderness,
    a land, salty and uninhabited.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord;
    the Lord will be their trust.(B)
They are like a tree planted beside the waters
    that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It does not fear heat when it comes,
    its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
    but still produces fruit.(C)

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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.
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.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
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.

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Various Sayings

The Lord says,

“I will condemn those
    who turn away from me
and put their trust in human beings,
    in the strength of mortals.
He is like a bush in the desert,
    which grows in the dry wasteland,
    on salty ground where nothing else grows.
Nothing good ever happens to him.

“But I will bless the person
    who puts his trust in me.
(A)He is like a tree growing near a stream
    and sending out roots to the water.
It is not afraid when hot weather comes,
    because its leaves stay green;
it has no worries when there is no rain;
    it keeps on bearing fruit.

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This is what the Lord says:
(A)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (B)flesh his [a]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
For he will be like a (C)bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (D)land of salt that is not inhabited.
(E)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose (F)trust is the Lord.
For he will be like a (G)tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (H)drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 17:5 Lit arm

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(A)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(B)
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(C) of the desert,
    in a salt(D) land where no one lives.

“But blessed(E) is the one who trusts(F) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.(G)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(H)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”(I)

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