Jeremiah 17:5–15

CURSE AND BLESSING

⁵This 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.

⁶He 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

⁷The person who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.^aa

⁸He 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

⁹The heart is more deceitful than anything else,^ac

and incurable—who can understand it?^ad

¹⁰I, the Lord, examine the mind,

I test the heart^Aae

to give to each according to his way,

according to what his actions deserve.^a

¹¹He who makes a fortune unjustly

is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn’t lay.

In the middle of his life

his riches will abandon him,

so in the end he will be a fool.^b

¹²A glorious throne^c

on high^d from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.^e

¹³Lord, the hope of Israel,^f

all who abandon you

will be put to shame.

All who turn away from me

will be written in the dirt,

for they have abandoned

the Lord, the fountain of living water.^g

JEREMIAH’S PLEA

¹⁴Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;

save me, and I will be saved,

for you are my praise.^h

¹⁵Hear how they keep challenging me,ⁱ

“Where is the word of the Lord?

Let it come!”