Jeremiah 17

1 “The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, engraved with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.

Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and will lean his arm of flesh upon him, while his heart departs from the Lord.

2 Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles by the green trees and on the high hills.

3 O My mountain in the countryside, I will give over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder, because of the sin of your high places, within all your borders.

4 And you yourself will relinquish the inheritance that I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land that you do not know, for you have kindled My anger; it will burn forever.”

5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.

6 He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

And he shall be as the wild tamarisk in the desert: he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in barren [places], and in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.

7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord shall be.

8 He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

And he shall be as a thriving tree by the waters, and he shall cast forth his root toward a moist place: he shall not fear when heat comes, and there shall be upon him shady branches: he shall not fear in a year of drought, and he shall not fail to bear fruit.

9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man, and who can know him?

10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

I the Lord try the hearts, and prove the reins, to give to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his devices.

11 Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”

The partridge utters her voice, she gathers [eggs] which she did not lay; [so is a man] gaining his wealth unjustly; in the midst of his days [his riches] shall leave him, and at his latter end he will be a fool.

12 A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.

An exalted throne of glory is our sanctuary.

13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.

O Lord, the hope of Israel, let all that have left you be ashamed, let them that have revolted be written on the earth, because they have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord.

14 Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my boast.

15 Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!”

Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come.

16 But I have not run away from being Your shepherd; I have not desired the day of despair. You know that the utterance of my lips was spoken in Your presence.

But I have not been weary of following you, nor have I desired the day of man; you know; the [words] that proceed out of my lips are before your face.

17 Do not become a terror to me; You are my refuge in the day of disaster.

Be not to me a stranger, [but] spare me in the evil day.

18 Let my persecutors be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but do not let me be terrified. Bring upon them the day of disaster and shatter them with double destruction.

Let them that persecute me be ashamed, but let me not be ashamed: let them be alarmed, but let me not be alarmed: bring upon them the evil day, crush them with double destruction.

19 This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; and stand at all the other gates of Jerusalem.

Thus says the Lord; Go and stand in the gates of the children of your people, by which the kings of Juda enter, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem:

20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, all people of Judah and Jerusalem who enter through these gates.

and you shall say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Juda, and all Judea, and all Jerusalem, [all] who go in at these gates:

21 This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

thus says the Lord; Take heed to your souls, and take up no burdens on the sabbath-day, and go not forth [through] the gates of Jerusalem;

22 You must not carry a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day, but you must keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers.

and carry forth no burdens out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and you shall do no work: sanctify the sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 Yet they would not listen or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and would not listen or receive My discipline.

But they listened not, and inclined not their ear, but stiffened their neck more than their fathers [did], so as not to hear me, and not to receive correction.

24 If, however, you listen carefully to Me, says the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and keep the Sabbath day holy, and do no work on it,

And it shall come to pass, if you will listen to me, says the Lord, to carry in no burdens through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, and to sanctify the sabbath-day, so as to do no work [upon it],

25 then kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses with their officials, along with the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.

that there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, and riding on their chariots and horses, they, and their princes, the men of Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem: and this city shall be inhabited for ever.

26 And people will come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, and from the foothills, the hill country, and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.

And [men] shall come out of the cities of Juda, and from round about Jerusalem, and out of the land of Benjamin, and out of the plain country, and from the hill country, and from the south [country], bringing whole burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and incense, and manna, and frankincense, bringing praise to the house of the Lord.

27 But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in its gates to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.’”

But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to me to sanctify the sabbath-day, to bear no burdens, nor go in [with them by] the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the streets of Jerusalem, and shall not be quenched.