Jeremiah 17:1-18:17
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Deceitful Heart
17 The (A)sin of Judah is written down with an (B)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is (C)engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of [a]their altars,
2 As they remember their (D)children,
So they remember their altars and their [b](E)Asherim
By (F)green trees on the high hills.
3 O (G)mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will (H)give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, (I)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your (J)enemies
In the (K)land which you do not know;
For you have (L)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5 Thus says the Lord,
“(M)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (N)flesh his [c]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a (O)bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (P)land of salt [d]without inhabitant.
7 “(Q)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose (R)trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a (S)tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (T)drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
9 “The (U)heart is more (V)deceitful than all else
And is desperately (W)sick;
Who can understand it?
10 “I, the Lord, (X)search the heart,
I test the [e]mind,
Even (Y)to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the [f]results of his deeds.
11 “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who (Z)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in [g]the end he will be a (AA)fool.”
12 (AB)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the (AC)hope of Israel,
All who (AD)forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn [h]away on earth will be (AE)written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord.
14 (AF)Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
(AG)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my (AH)praise.
15 Look, they keep (AI)saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the woeful day;
(AJ)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a (AK)terror to me;
You are my (AL)refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let those who persecute me be (AM)put to shame, but as for me, (AN)let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
(AO)Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with twofold destruction!
The Sabbath Must Be Kept
19 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the [i]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘(AP)Listen to the word of the Lord, (AQ)kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21 Thus says the Lord, “(AR)Take heed for yourselves, and (AS)do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day (AT)nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I (AU)commanded your [j]forefathers. 23 Yet they (AV)did not listen or incline their ears, but (AW)stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.
24 “But it will come about, if you (AX)listen attentively to Me,” declares the Lord, “to (AY)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, (AZ)but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 (BA)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes (BB)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this (BC)city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come in from the (BD)cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the (BE)lowland, from the hill country and from the (BF)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. 27 But (BG)if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then (BH)I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will (BI)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (BJ)not be quenched.”’”
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, 2 “Arise and (BK)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the [k]wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the (BL)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (BM)uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8 (BN)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will [l](BO)relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (BP)build up or to plant it; 10 if it does (BQ)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will [m](BR)think better of the good with which I had promised to [n]bless it. 11 So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am (BS)fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh (BT)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and [o]reform your ways and your deeds.”’ 12 But (BU)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the (BV)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says the Lord,
‘(BW)Ask now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of [p]this?
The (BX)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (BY)appalling thing.
14 ‘Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever snatched away?
15 ‘For (BZ)My people have forgotten Me,
(CA)They burn incense [q]to worthless gods
And they [r]have stumbled [s]from their ways,
[t]From the (CB)ancient paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a (CC)highway,
16 To make their land a (CD)desolation,
An object of perpetual (CE)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (CF)shake his head.
17 ‘Like an (CG)east wind I will (CH)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [u]show them (CI)My back and not My face
(CJ)In the day of their calamity.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:1 So ancient versions; M.T. your
- Jeremiah 17:2 I.e. wooden symbols of a female deity
- Jeremiah 17:5 Lit arm
- Jeremiah 17:6 Lit and is not inhabited
- Jeremiah 17:10 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:10 Lit fruit
- Jeremiah 17:11 Lit his
- Jeremiah 17:13 Lit away from Me
- Jeremiah 17:19 Lit gate of the sons of the people
- Jeremiah 17:22 Lit fathers
- Jeremiah 18:3 Lit pair of stone discs
- Jeremiah 18:8 Lit repent of
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit repent
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit do it good
- Jeremiah 18:11 Lit make good
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 So ancient versions; Heb caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:15 Or in
- Jeremiah 18:15 Or in
- Jeremiah 18:17 So ancient versions; M.T. reads look them in the back and not in the face
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
