Jeremiah 17
17
1 "The sin of Judah has been written with a pen of iron and a point of diamond. It has been engraved upon the breadth of their heart and upon the horns of their shrines.
2 And their sons make a remembrance of their shrines, and their sacred groves, and their leafy trees on high mountains,
3 by sacrificing in the field. And so, I will give over your strength and all your treasures to be despoiled, along with your exalted places of sin, within all your borders.
4 And you will be left behind without your inheritance, which I gave to you. And I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land that you do not know. For you have kindled a fire in my fury; it shall burn, even unto eternity."
5 Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is a man who trusts in man, and who establishes what is flesh as his right arm, and whose heart withdraws from the Lord.
6 For he will be like a saltcedar tree in the desert. And he will not perceive it, when what is good has arrived. Instead, he will live in dryness, in a desert, in a land of salt, which is uninhabitable.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for the Lord will be his confidence.
8 And he will be like a tree planted beside waters, which sends out its roots to moist soil. And it will not fear when the heat arrives. And its leaves will be green. And in the time of drought, it will not be anxious, nor will it cease at any time to bear fruit.
9 The heart is depraved above all things, and it is unsearchable, who can know it?
10 I am the Lord, who examines the heart and tests the temperament, who gives to each one according to his way and according to the fruit of his own decisions.
11 A partridge has hatched eggs that she did not lay; a man has gathered riches, but without judgment. In the midst of his days, he will leave it all behind, and he will be foolish concerning his very end."
12 "A high and glorious throne is the place of our sanctification from the beginning.
13 O Lord, Hope of Israel: all who forsake you will be confounded. Those who withdraw from you will be written into the earth. For they have abandoned the Lord, the Source of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved. For you are my praise.
15 Behold, they themselves are saying to me: 'Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come.'
16 But I am not troubled; I am following you as my shepherd. And I have not desired the day of man, as you know. That which has gone forth from my lips has been right in your sight.
17 May you not be a dread to me. You are my hope in the day of affliction.
18 May those who persecute me be confounded, but may I not be confounded. May they be fearful, and may I not be fearful. Lead over them the day of affliction, and crush them with a double destruction."
19 Thus says the Lord to me: "Go, and stand at the gate of the sons of the people, through which the kings of Judah enter and depart, and at all the gates of Jerusalem.
20 And you shall say to them: Listen to the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and all of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter through these gates."
21 Thus says the Lord: "Guard your souls, and do not choose to carry heavy things on the day of the Sabbath, nor should you carry these things through the gates of Jerusalem.
22 And do not be willing to cast burdens out of your houses on the day of the Sabbath, nor should you do any work. Sanctify the day of the Sabbath, just as I instructed your fathers.
23 But they did not listen, nor did they incline their ear. Instead, they hardened their neck, lest they listen to me and receive discipline.
24 And this shall be: If you listen to me, says the Lord, so that you do not carry in burdens through the gates of this city on the day of the Sabbath, and if you sanctify the day of the Sabbath, so that you do not do work in it,
25 then there will enter through the gates of this city: kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David, and riding on chariots and horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited forever.
26 And they will arrive from the cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plains, and from the mountainous regions, and from the south, carrying holocausts, and victims, and sacrifices, and frankincense. And they will carry an oblation into the house of the Lord.
27 But if you will not listen to me, to sanctify the day of the Sabbath, and not to carry burdens, and not to bring these things through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath, then I will kindle a fire at its gates, and it will devour the houses of Jerusalem, and it will not be extinguished."
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Jeremiah 17
17
Guilt Written on the Heart
1“The sins of Judah are written where they cannot be erased—
cut into stone with an iron pen,
cut deep with a hard tip into the stone that is the hearts of the people.
Their sins are carved into the horns of their altars.#17:1 horns of their altars The corners of altars were shaped like horns, and the blood of sacrifices was smeared on them. So Jeremiah may mean that the people’s sins have made their altars unfit for sacrifices.
2Their children remember the altars
that were dedicated to false gods.
They remember the wooden poles
that were dedicated to Asherah.
They remember those things
under the green trees and on the hills.
3They remember those things
on the mountains in the open country.
The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give those things to other people.
People will destroy all the high places in your country.
You worshiped there, and that was a sin.
4You will lose the land I gave you.
I will let your enemies take you to be their slaves.
That is because I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire, and you will be burned forever.”
Trusting in People and Trusting in God
5This is what the Lord says:
“Bad things will happen to those who put their trust in people.
Bad things will happen to those who depend on human strength.
That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord.
6They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives.
It is in a hot and dry land.
It is in bad soil.
That bush does not know about the good things that God can give.
7“But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed.
They know that the Lord will do what he says.
8They will be strong like trees planted near a stream
that send out roots to the water.
They have nothing to fear when the days get hot.
Their leaves are always green.
They never worry, even in a year that has no rain.
They always produce fruit.
9“Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind.
It can be very sick,
and no one really understands it.
10But I am the Lord,
and I can look into a person’s heart.
I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have.
I can give each person the right payment for what they do.
11Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay.
Those who cheat to get money are like that bird.
But when their lives are half finished, they will lose the money.
At the end of their lives, it will be clear that they were fools.”
12From the very beginning, our Temple
has been a glorious throne for God.
It is a very important place.
13Lord, you are the hope of Israel.
You are like a spring of living water.
Those who stop following the Lord
will have a very short life.#17:13 will have a very short life Literally, “he will be written in the dirt.” This might mean that a person’s name was written on a list of people who would soon die, or that a person’s life will soon be gone—like a name written in the sand.
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
14Lord, if you heal me, I surely will be healed.
Save me, and I surely will be saved.
Lord, I praise you!
15The people of Judah continue to ask me questions.
They say, “Jeremiah, what about the message from the Lord?
Let’s see that message come true.”
16Lord, I did not run away from you.
I followed you.
I became the shepherd#17:16 shepherd God’s people are sometimes called his “sheep,” and the person who takes care of them is called the “shepherd.” you wanted.
I did not want the terrible day to come.
You know what I said.
You see all that is happening.
17Please don’t make me afraid of you.
I depend on you in times of trouble.
18People are hurting me.
Make them ashamed,
but don’t disappoint me.
Let them be filled with fear,
but don’t give me any reason to fear.
Bring the terrible day of disaster to my enemies.
Break them, and break them again.
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19This is what the Lord said to me: “Jeremiah, go and stand at the People’s Gate,#17:19 People’s Gate This might be one of the gates into Jerusalem or perhaps one of the southern gates into the Temple area used by those who were not priests. where the kings of Judah go in and out. Tell the people my message, and then go to all the other gates of Jerusalem and do the same.”
20Say to the people, “Listen to this message from the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah. Listen, all you people of Judah. All you who come through these gates into Jerusalem, listen to me! 21This is what the Lord says: ‘Be careful that you don’t carry a load on the Sabbath day. And don’t bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22Don’t bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work on that day. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. I gave this same command to your ancestors, 23but they did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me. 24But you must be careful to obey me, says the Lord. You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.
25“‘If you obey this command, the kings and leaders will be from David’s family. It will be the kings who sit on David’s throne and the leaders from Judah and Jerusalem who come through the gates of Jerusalem riding on chariots and on horses. And Jerusalem will have people living in it forever. 26People will come to Jerusalem from the towns and villages of Judah, from the land where the tribe of Benjamin lives,#17:26 the land where … Benjamin lives The land of Benjamin was just north of the land of Judah. from the western foothills, from the hill country, and from the Negev. All these people will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thank offerings to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.
27“‘But if you don’t listen to me and obey me, bad things will happen. If you carry loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, you are not keeping it as a holy day. So I will start a fire that cannot be put out. That fire will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will burn until it burns even the palaces.’”
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