Jeremiah 17
17
The Sin of Judah
1“The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus,
with a point of diamond it is engraved
on the tablet of their heart,
and on the horns of their altars.
2As the remembering of their children,
so is the remembering of their altars
and their poles of Asherah worship
beside the leafy trees#Hebrew “tree” on the high hills.
3O my mountain in the open country,
I will give your wealth, all your treasures, for spoil,
your high places, because of your sin,
throughout all your territories.
4And you will let go your hand from your inheritance#Literally “you shall loose and in you from your inheritance”
that I gave to you,
and I will make you serve your enemies
in the land that you do not know,
for you kindled a fire in my anger,
until eternity it will be kindled.”
The One Who Trusts in Humankind Contrasted With the One Who Trusts in Yahweh
5Thus says Yahweh,
“Cursed is the person who trusts in humankind
and makes flesh his strength,#Literally “arm”
and turns aside his heart from Yahweh.
6And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness,#Or “Arabah”
and he will not see when good comes,
and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert,#Or “wilderness”
in a land of salt flats,#Hebrew “salt flat” where no one lives.
7Blessed be the person who trusts in Yahweh,
and Yahweh is his trust.
8For he will be like a tree planted by water,
and to the stream it sends its roots,
and it will not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves#Hebrew “leaf” will be luxuriant,
and in the year of drought it will not be anxious,
and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.
9The heart is deceitful more than anything else,
and it is disastrous. Who can understand it?
10I, Yahweh, examine the mind,#Literally “heart”
I test the heart,#Literally “kidneys”
and give to each one according to his way,
according to the fruit of his deeds.
11Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
is one who amasses wealth without justice.
In the middle of his days it will leave him,
and at his end he will prove to be a fool.”
The Fountain of Living Water
12A lofty throne of glory from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13O Yahweh, the hope of Israel,
all those who forsake you will be put to shame,
and those who turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded,
for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.
14Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed,
save me, and I will be saved,
for you are my praise.
15Look, they are saying to me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Please let it come.”
16But I, I have not run away from being a shepherd who follows you,#Literally “after you”
and I have not desired the disastrous day.
You, you know the pronouncement of my lips,
it was before your face.
17You must not become to me a terror,
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but as for me,#Literally “I” do not let me be put to shame.
Let them be dismayed,
but as for me,#Literally “I” do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of disaster,
and with double destruction, destroy them.
The Sabbath Day
19Thus said Yahweh to me, “Go, and you must stand in the People’s Gate#Literally “gate of the sons/children of the people” through which the kings of Judah enter, and through which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. 20And you must say to them, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. 21Thus says Yahweh, “Be on your guard for the sake of yourselves, that you must not carry a burden on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not bring it#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation through the gates of Jerusalem. 22And you must not carry a burden from your houses on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not do any work. But you must declare holy the day of Sabbath, just as I commanded your ancestors.#Or “fathers” 23Yet they did not listen, and they did not incline their ear, and they hardened their neck so as to not hear, nor to receive discipline.
24“And it will happen, if you carefully listen to me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the day of the Sabbath, but to declare holy the day of Sabbath, not to do on it any work, 25then kings and officials who sit on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city riding in chariots#Hebrew “chariot” and on horses, they, and their officials, the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.#Literally “to eternity” 26And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the Shephelah, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings,#Hebrew “burnt offering” and sacrifices,#Hebrew “sacrifice” and grain offerings,#Hebrew “grain offering” and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings#Hebrew “thank offering” to the house of Yahweh. 27But if you do not listen to me, to declare holy the day of the Sabbath, and to not carry a burden and enter through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be quenched.” ’ ”
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Jeremiah 17
17
The Heart Is Hopelessly Dark and Deceitful
1-2“Judah’s sin is engraved
with a steel chisel,
A steel chisel with a diamond point—
engraved on their granite hearts,
engraved on the stone corners of their altars.
The evidence against them is plain to see:
sex-and-religion altars and sacred sex shrines
Anywhere there’s a grove of trees,
anywhere there’s an available hill.
3-4“I’ll use your mountains as roadside stands
for giving away everything you have.
All your ‘things’ will serve as reparations
for your sins all over the country.
You’ll lose your gift of land,
The inheritance I gave you.
I’ll make you slaves of your enemies
in a far-off and strange land.
My anger is hot and blazing and fierce,
and no one will put it out.”
* * *
5-6 God’s Message:
“Cursed is the strong one
who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
and sets God aside as dead weight.
He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
in a land where nothing grows.
7-8“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.
* * *
9-10“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”
* * *
11Like a cowbird that cheats by laying its eggs
in another bird’s nest
Is the person who gets rich by cheating.
When the eggs hatch, the deceit is exposed.
What a fool he’ll look like then!
* * *
12-13From early on your Sanctuary was set high,
a throne of glory, exalted!
O God, you’re the hope of Israel.
All who leave you end up as fools,
Deserters with nothing to show for their lives,
who walk off from God, fountain of living waters—
and wind up dead!
* * *
14-18 God, pick up the pieces.
Put me back together again.
You are my praise!
Listen to how they talk about me:
“So where’s this ‘Word of God’?
We’d like to see something happen!”
But it wasn’t my idea to call for Doomsday.
I never wanted trouble.
You know what I’ve said.
It’s all out in the open before you.
Don’t add to my troubles.
Give me some relief!
Let those who harass me be harassed, not me.
Let them be disgraced, not me.
Bring down upon them the day of doom.
Lower the boom. Boom!
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy
19-20 God’s Message to me: “Go stand in the People’s Gate, the one used by Judah’s kings as they come and go, and then proceed in turn to all the gates of Jerusalem. Tell them, ‘Listen, you kings of Judah, listen to God’s Message—and all you people who go in and out of these gates, you listen!
21-23“‘This is God’s Message. Be careful, if you care about your lives, not to desecrate the Sabbath by turning it into just another workday, lugging stuff here and there. Don’t use the Sabbath to do business as usual. Keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. They never did it, as you know. They paid no attention to what I said and went about their own business, refusing to be guided or instructed by me.
24-26“‘But now, take seriously what I tell you. Quit desecrating the Sabbath by busily going about your own work, and keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing business as usual. Then kings from the time of David and their officials will continue to ride through these gates on horses or in chariots. The people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem will continue to pass through them, too. Jerusalem will always be filled with people. People will stream in from all over Judah, from the province of Benjamin, from the Jerusalem suburbs, from foothills and mountains and deserts. They’ll come to worship, bringing all kinds of offerings—animals, grains, incense, expressions of thanks—into the Sanctuary of God.
27“‘But if you won’t listen to me, won’t keep the Sabbath holy, won’t quit using the Sabbath for doing your own work, busily going in and out of the city gates on your self-important business, then I’ll burn the gates down. In fact, I’ll burn the whole city down, palaces and all, with a fire nobody will be able to put out!’”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.