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.

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 their Asherah poles that were beside the spreading trees and on 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.

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.”

5 Yahweh says, “The person who trusts in mankind is accursed; he makes flesh his strength but turns his heart away from Yahweh.

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.

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 the person who trusts in Yahweh is blessed, for Yahweh is his reason for confidence.

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

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.

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 more deceitful than anything else. It is sick; who can understand it?

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

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 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 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.”

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 “The place of our temple is a glorious throne, elevated from the beginning.

An exalted throne of glory is 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 Lord, the hope of Israel, let all that have left thee 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, Yahweh, and I will be healed! Rescue me, and I will be rescued. For you are my song of praise.

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

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 the Lord? let it come.

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.

But I have not been weary of following thee, nor have I desired the day of man; thou knowest; the [words] that proceed out of my lips are before thy face.

17 Do not be a terror to me. You are my refuge on the day of calamity.

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

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 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 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 saith the Lord; Go and stand in the gates of the children of thy 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 Yahweh, kings of Judah and all you people of Judah, and every resident of Jerusalem who comes in through these gates.

and thou shalt say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and all Judea, and all Jerusalem, [all] who go in at 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 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 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.”'

and carry forth no burdens out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and ye shall do no work: sanctify 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, 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 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,

And it shall come to pass, if ye will hearken to me, saith 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, 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.

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 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.

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 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 it shall come to pass, if ye will not hearken 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.