Jeremiah 17:5–11

Curse and Blessing

5 This is what the Lord says:

The man who trusts in mankind, x

who makes human flesh his strength y

and turns his heart from the Lord is cursed.

6 He will be like a juniper in the * Arabah; z

he cannot see when good comes

but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,

in a salt land where no one lives. a

7 The man who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. b

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

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, d

and incurable—who can understand it? e

10 I, * Yahweh, examine the mind,

I test the heart f g

to give to each according to his way,

according to what his actions deserve. h

11 He who makes a fortune unjustly

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

In the middle of his days

his riches will abandon him,

so in the end he will be a fool. i