Jeremiah 17
1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, With the point of a diamond is it engraved Upon the tablet of their hearts, Upon the horns of their altars.
The sin of Judah is recorded with a pen of iron, and with the sharp point of a jewel it is cut on their hearts of stone, and on the horns of their altars for a sign to them:
2 While their children remember the altars, and the images of Astarte, Near the green trees, And upon the high hills.
Their altars and their wood pillars under every branching tree, on the high hills and the mountains in the field.
3 My mountain in the field! thy substance and all thy treasures will I give up for spoil; Thy high places for sin in all thy borders.
I will give your wealth and all your stores to be taken away in war without a price, because of your sins in every part of your land.
4 Thou shalt of thyself cease to possess the inheritance which I gave thee, And I will cause thee to serve thy enemies in a land which thou knowest not; For ye have kindled a fire in my anger, Which shall burn forever.
And your hand will have to let go your heritage which I gave you; and I will make you a servant to your haters in a land which is strange to you: for you have put my wrath on fire with a flame which will go on burning for ever.
5 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed be the man who trusteth in man, And maketh flesh his arm, And whose heart departeth from Jehovah!
This is what the Lord has said: Cursed is the man who puts his faith in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart is turned away from the Lord.
6 He shall be like a poor wanderer in the desert, Who seeth not when good cometh, But dwelleth in the parched places of the desert, In a salt land, and uninhabited.
For he will be like the brushwood in the upland, and will not see when good comes; but his living-place will be in the dry places in the waste land, in a salt and unpeopled land.
7 Blessed is the man who trusteth in Jehovah; Who in Jehovah placeth his hope!
A blessing is on the man who puts his faith in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 He shall be like a tree planted by the water-side, That spreadeth out her roots by the stream, That feeleth not when the heat cometh, But whose leaf is green; That careth not in the year of drought, Nor ceaseth from yielding fruit.
For he will be like a tree planted by the waters, pushing out its roots by the stream; he will have no fear when the heat comes, but his leaf will be green; in a dry year he will have no care, and will go on giving fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things; Yea, it is corrupt; who can know it?
The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?
10 I, Jehovah, search the heart, And try the reins, To give to every man according to his ways, And according to the fruit of his doings.
I the Lord am the searcher of the heart, the tester of the thoughts, so that I may give to every man the reward of his ways, in keeping with the fruit of his doings.
11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid, So is he that getteth riches, and not by right; In the midst of his days shall he leave them, And in his latter end find himself a fool.
Like the partridge, getting eggs together but not producing young, is a man who gets wealth but not by right; before half his days are ended, it will go from him, and at his end he will be foolish.
12 A glorious, lofty throne from the beginning Hath been the place of our sanctuary.
A seat of glory, placed on high from the first, is our holy place.
13 O thou hope of Israel, Jehovah! All that forsake thee shall be put to shame; Yea, all that depart from me shall be written in dust, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, they have forsaken Jehovah.
O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who give you up will be put to shame; those who go away from you will be cut off from the earth, because they have given up the Lord, the fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved; For thou art my praise!
Make me well, O Lord, and I will be well; be my saviour, and I will be safe: for you are my hope.
15 Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of Jehovah? Let it come to pass!”
See, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.
16 I have not refused to follow thee, as thy shepherd, Neither have I desired the day of woe, as thou knowest! That which came from my lips hath been before thine eyes.
As for me, I have not said; Let the day of trouble come to them quickly; and I have not been hoping for the death-giving day; you have knowledge of what came from my lips; it was open before you.
17 Be not thou a terror to me, Thou, my refuge in the day of distress! Let my persecutors be confounded, but let not me be confounded!
Be not a cause of fear to me: you are my safe place in the day of evil.
18 Let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed! Bring upon them the day of calamity, And destroy them with double destruction!
Let them be put to shame who are attacking me, but let me not be shamed; let them be overcome with fear, but let me not be overcome: send on them the day of evil, and put them to destruction twice over.
19 Thus said Jehovah to me: Go and stand in the people's gate, Through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, And in all the gates of Jerusalem,
This is what the Lord has said to me: Go and take your place in the doorway of Benjamin, where the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the doorways of Jerusalem;
20 And say to them, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, All Judah, and all ye who dwell at Jerusalem, Who enter in through these gates!
And say to them, Give ear to the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all the people of Jerusalem who come in by these doors:
21 Thus saith Jehovah: Take heed to yourselves, And carry no burden on the sabbath-day, And bring none through the gates of Jerusalem.
This is what the Lord has said: See to yourselves, that you take up no weight on the Sabbath day, or take it in through the doors of Jerusalem;
22 Bear no burden from your houses on the sabbath-day, And do no kind of work; But keep ye holy the sabbath-day, As I commanded your fathers.
And take no weight out of your houses on the Sabbath day, or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I gave orders to your fathers;
23 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, But made their necks stiff, and refused to hear, And refused to receive instruction.
But they gave no attention and would not give ear, but they made their necks stiff so that they might not give ear and might not get teaching.
24 If ye will now diligently hearken to me, saith Jehovah, And bring no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, But keep holy the sabbath-day, Doing no work therein,
And it will be, that if with all care you give ear to me, says the Lord, and take no weight through the doorways of this town on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work in it;
25 Then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes, Who sit upon the throne of David, Riding in chariots and on horses, They and their chieftains, The men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And this city shall be inhabited forever.
Then through the doors of this town there will come kings and princes, seated on the seat of David, going in carriages and on horseback, they and their princes, and the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: and this town will keep its place for ever.
26 Then from the cities of Judah, and the places around Jerusalem, From the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, From the mountains, and from the South, Shall they come bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, And flour-offerings, and incense, And bringing thank-offerings to the house of Jehovah.
And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from the places round about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowlands, and from the mountains, and from the South, with burned offerings and offerings of beasts and meal offerings and perfume and offerings of praise, to the house of the Lord.
27 But if ye will not hearken to me, To keep holy the sabbath-day, And to carry no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, Then will I kindle in her gates an unquenchable fire, Which shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
But if you do not give ear to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and to let no weight be lifted and taken through the doors of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: then I will put a fire in its doorways, burning up the great houses of Jerusalem, and it will never be put out.
