Jeremiah 16:19–17:1

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,

my refuge in time of distress,

to you the nations will come

from the ends of the earth and say,

“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,

worthless idols that did them no good.

20 Do people make their own gods?

Yes, but they are not gods!”

21 “Therefore I will teach them—

this time I will teach them

my power and might.

Then they will know

that my name is the Lord.

1 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,

inscribed with a flint point,

on the tablets of their hearts

and on the horns of their altars.

19 O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

my refuge in the day of trouble,

to you shall the nations come

from the ends of the earth and say:

“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,

worthless things in which there is no profit.

20 Can man make for himself gods?

Such are not gods!”

21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.”

1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars,

19 Lord, you are my strength and fortress,

my refuge in the day of trouble!

Nations from around the world

will come to you and say,

“Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,

for they worshiped worthless idols.

20 Can people make their own gods?

These are not real gods at all!”

21 The Lord says,

“Now I will show them my power;

now I will show them my might.

At last they will know and understand

that I am the Lord.

1 “The sin of Judah

is inscribed with an iron chisel—

engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts

and on the corners of their altars.

19 O Lord, my strength and my fortress,

My refuge in the day of affliction,

The Gentiles shall come to You

From the ends of the earth and say,

“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,

Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”

20 Will a man make gods for himself,

Which are not gods?

21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,

I will cause them to know

My hand and My might;

And they shall know that My name is the Lord.

1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;

With the point of a diamond it is engraved

On the tablet of their heart,

And on the horns of your altars,

19 Lord, you are my strength and my protection,

my safe place in times of trouble.

The nations will come to you from all over the world

and say, “Our ancestors had only false gods,

useless idols that didn’t help them.

20 Can people make gods for themselves?

They will not really be gods!”

21 The Lord says, “So I will teach those who make idols.

This time I will teach them

about my power and my strength.

Then they will know

that my name is the Lord.

1 “The sin of the people of Judah is written with an iron tool.

Their sins were cut with a hard point into the stone that is their hearts.

Their sins were cut into the corners of their altars.

19 O Jehovah, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, even vanity and things wherein there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make unto himself gods, which yet are no gods?

21 Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.

1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

19 Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of distress, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and they shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited falsehood and vanity; and in these things there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no-gods? 21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.

1 The sin of Judah is written with a style of iron, with the point of a diamond, engraven upon the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

19 The Lord is my strength and my fortress, 

my refuge in times of trouble. 

Nations come to you from the most distant parts of the world 

and say, “Our ancestors have inherited lies, 

worthless and unprofitable gods.” 

20 “People can’t make gods for themselves. 

They aren’t really gods. 

21 That is what I will teach them. 

This time I will make my power and my strength known to them. 

Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” 

1 ⸤The Lord says,⸥ “Judah’s sin is written with an iron pen. 

It is engraved with a diamond point 

on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. 

19 Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

my refuge in a time of distress,

the nations will come to You

from the ends of the earth, and they will say,

“Our fathers inherited only lies,

worthless idols of no benefit at all.”

20 Can one make gods for himself?

But they are not gods.

21 “Therefore, I am about to inform them,

and this time I will make them know

My power and My might;

then they will know that My name is Yahweh.”

1 The sin of Judah is written

with an iron stylus.

With a diamond point

it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts

and on the horns of their altars,

19 O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

my refuge in the day of trouble,

to you shall the nations come

from the ends of the earth and say:

“Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies,

worthless things in which there is no profit.

20 Can mortals make for themselves gods?

Such are no gods!”

21 “Therefore I am surely going to teach them, this time I am going to teach them my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.”

1 The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars,

19 O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold,

and my refuge in the day of distress,

to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth,

and they will say, “Our ancestors have inherited only lies,

vanity, and there is no profit in them.

20 Can a human make for himself gods?

Yet they are not gods!”

21 “Therefore look, I am about to let them know,

this time I am going to let them know

my power and my might,

and they will know that my name is Yahweh.”

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.

19 Lord, you give me strength.

You are like a fort to me.

When I’m in trouble,

I go to you for safety.

The nations will come to you

from one end of the earth to the other.

They will gather together and say,

“Our people of long ago didn’t own anything

except statues of gods.

The statues were worthless.

They didn’t do them any good.

20 Do men really make their own gods?

Yes. But they aren’t really gods at all!”

21 The Lord says, “So I will teach them about myself.

This time I will show them

how powerful and mighty I am.

Then they will know

that I am the Lord.

1 “Judah’s sin is carved with an iron tool. It is written with a sharp stone.

It is carved on the tablets of their hearts.

It is written on the horns that stick out

from the corners of their altars.

19 O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

And my refuge in the day of distress,

To You the nations will come

From the ends of the earth and say,

“Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,

Futility and things of no profit.”

20 Can man make gods for himself?

Yet they are not gods!

21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—

This time I will make them know

My power and My might;

And they shall know that My name is the Lord.”

1 The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus;

With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart

And on the horns of their altars,