JeremiahChapter 17

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¹"The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen.
It is carved with a diamond point
on the tablets of their hearts
and on the horns of their altars. ²Even their children remember their altars
and their Asherah poles
by the green trees and on the high hills. ³My mountain in the countryside,
I will give away your riches and all your treasures as loot.
This is because of the sin of your high places
in every part of your land. ⁴You yourself will lose the land
that I gave you to own.
I will make you slaves to your enemies
in a land you do not know.
For you have lit the fire of my anger,
and it will burn forever." ⁵This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in people.
He depends on weak human strength,
and his heart turns away from the LORD. ⁶He will be like a bush in the desert.
He will not see it when good times come.
He will live in the dry places of the desert,
in a salty land where no one lives. ⁷But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD.
He puts his hope in him. ⁸He is like a tree planted by the water.
It sends out its roots toward the stream.
It is not afraid when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It does not worry in a year with no rain.
It never stops making fruit. ⁹The heart is more full of tricks than anything else.
It is sick beyond cure.
Who can understand it? ¹⁰I, the LORD, search the heart.
I test the mind.
I reward each person for the way he lives,
for what his actions deserve. ¹¹A man who gets rich in a wrong way
is like a partridge that sits on eggs it did not lay.
In the middle of his life his riches will leave him.
In the end he will be shown to be a fool." ¹²A glorious throne, lifted high from the beginning,
is the place of our holy temple. ¹³LORD, you are the hope of Israel.
All who leave you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away will be written in the dust.
For they have left the LORD,
the spring of living water. ¹⁴Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed.
Save me, and I will be saved.
For you are the one I praise. ¹⁵Listen, they keep saying to me,
"Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come true now!" ¹⁶But I have not run away from being your shepherd.
I have not wanted the day of despair to come.
You know what came out of my mouth.
It was spoken in front of you. ¹⁷Do not become a terror to me.
You are my safe place in the day of disaster. ¹⁸Let the people who hurt me 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 the day of disaster on them.
Crush them with double destruction. ¹⁹This is what the LORD said to me: "Go and stand at the People's Gate. The kings of Judah go in and out through it. Then stand at all the other gates of Jerusalem. ²⁰Say to them, 'Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah. Hear it, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem who come in through these gates. ²¹This is what the LORD says: Be careful for your own sakes. Do not carry a load on the Sabbath day. Do not bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem. ²²You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. You must not do any work on it. But you must keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your ancestors. ²³But they would not listen or pay attention. They were stubborn and would not listen. They would not accept my correction. ²⁴But suppose you listen carefully to me, says the LORD. Suppose you bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. Suppose you keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it. ²⁵Then kings and princes will come in through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David. They will ride in chariots and on horses with their officials. The men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will be with them. And this city will have people living in it forever. ²⁶People will come from the towns of Judah and the places around Jerusalem. They will come from the land of Benjamin, from the foothills, from the hill country, and from the Negev. They will bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to the house of the LORD. They will bring grain offerings and frankincense and thank offerings. ²⁷But you might not listen to me. You might not keep the Sabbath day holy. You might carry a load as you come in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If so, I will start a fire in its gates that no one can put out. It will burn up the strong towers of Jerusalem.'"