CURSE AND BLESSING

5 This is what the Lord says:

Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind.w

He makes human flesh his strength,x

and his heart turns from the Lord.

6 He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;y

he cannot see when good comes

but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,

in a salt land where no one lives.z

7 The person who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.aa

8 He will be like a tree planted by water:ab

it sends its roots out toward a stream,

it doesn’t fear when heat comes,

and its foliage remains green.

It will not worry in a year of drought

or cease producing fruit.

THE DECEITFUL HEART

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else,ac

and incurable—who can understand it?ad

10 I, the Lord, examine the mind,

I test the heartD,ae

to give to each according to his way,

according to what his actions deserve.a