Jeremiah 17
1 “The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus having a diamond point. It is engraved on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of your altars.
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.
2 Even their children remember their altars and their Asherah poles that were beside the spreading trees and on the high hills.
While their children remember the altars, and the images of Astarte, Near the green trees, And upon the high hills.
3 My mountain in the open country, and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of the sin you committed in all your territories.
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.
4 You will lose the inheritance that I gave to you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land that you do not know, for you have ignited a fire in my wrath, which will burn forever.”
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.
5 Yahweh says, “The person who trusts in mankind is accursed; he makes flesh his strength but turns his heart away from Yahweh.
Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed be the man who trusteth in man, And maketh flesh his arm, And whose heart departeth from Jehovah!
6 For he will be like a small bush in the Arabah and will not see anything good coming. He will stay in the stony places in the wilderness, barren land without inhabitants.
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.
7 But the person who trusts in Yahweh is blessed, for Yahweh is his reason for confidence.
Blessed is the man who trusteth in Jehovah; Who in Jehovah placeth his hope!
8 For he will be like a tree planted by water, its roots will spread out by the stream. It will not fear the heat when it comes, for its leaves are always green. It is not anxious in a year of drought, and it will not stop producing fruit.
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.
9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else. It is sick; who can understand it?
The heart is deceitful above all things; Yea, it is corrupt; who can know it?
10 I am Yahweh, the one who searches through the mind, who tests the hearts. I give to each person according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
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.
11 A partridge hatches an egg that she did not lay. Someone may become rich unjustly, but when half his days are over, those riches will abandon him, and in the end he will be a fool.”
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.
12 “The place of our temple is a glorious throne, elevated from the beginning.
A glorious, lofty throne from the beginning Hath been the place of our sanctuary.
13 Yahweh is the hope of Israel. All who abandon you will be put to shame; those in the land who turn away from you will be written in the earth, for they have forsaken Yahweh, the fountain of living waters.
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.
14 Heal me, Yahweh, and I will be healed! Rescue me, and I will be rescued. For you are my song of praise.
Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved; For thou art my praise!
15 See, they are saying to me, 'Where is the word of Yahweh? Let it come!'
Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of Jehovah? Let it come to pass!”
16 As for me, I did not run from being a shepherd following you. I did not long for the day of disaster. You know the proclamations that came from my lips. They were made in your presence.
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.
17 Do not be a terror to me. You are my refuge on the day of calamity.
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!
18 May my pursuers be ashamed, but do not let me be ashamed. May they be dismayed, but do not let me be dismayed. Send the day of disaster against them and shatter them with a double share of destruction.”
Let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed! Bring upon them the day of calamity, And destroy them with double destruction!
19 Yahweh said this to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the people where the kings of Judah enter and where they exit, then in all the other gates of Jerusalem.
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,
20 Say to them, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah and all you people of Judah, and every resident of Jerusalem who comes in through these gates.
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!
21 Yahweh says this: “Be careful for the sake of your lives and do not carry a burden on the Sabbath day to bring it to the gates of Jerusalem.
Thus saith Jehovah: Take heed to yourselves, And carry no burden on the sabbath-day, And bring none through the gates of Jerusalem.
22 Do not bring a load out from your house on the Sabbath day. Do not do any work, but set apart the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors to do.”'
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.
23 They did not listen or pay attention, but stiffened their neck so they would not hear me nor accept discipline.
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, But made their necks stiff, and refused to hear, And refused to receive instruction.
24 It will happen that if you truly listen to me—this is Yahweh's declaration—and do not bring a load to the gates of this city on the Sabbath day but instead set apart the Sabbath day to Yahweh and not do any work on it,
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,
25 then kings, princes, and those who sit on David's throne will come to the gates of this city in chariots and with horses, they and their leaders, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.
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.
26 They will come from the cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and the lowlands, from the mountains, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, thank offerings to the house of Yahweh.
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.
27 But if you do not listen to me—to set apart the Sabbath day and to not carry heavy loads and to not enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day—then I will light a fire in its gates, and it will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem, and it cannot be put out.”
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.
