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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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.

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.

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.

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.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[a](D)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(E)
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)
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.”

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)
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.

“But blessed(Q) is the one who trusts(R) 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.(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)

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

  1. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your
  3. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army