19 O Lord, my astrength and my stronghold,

And my brefuge in the day of distress,

To You the cnations will come

From the ends of the earth and say,

“Our fathers have inherited nothing but dfalsehood,

Futility and 1ethings of no profit.”

20 Can man make gods for himself?

Yet they are anot gods!

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

This time I will amake them know

My 1power and My might;

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

Chapter 17

The Deceitful Heart

1 The asin of Judah is written down with an biron stylus;

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

And on the horns of 1their altars,

2 As they remember their achildren,

So they remember their altars and their 1bAsherim

By cgreen trees on the high hills.

3 O amountain of Mine in the countryside,

I will bgive over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,

Your high places for sin throughout your borders.

4 And you will, even of yourself, alet go of your inheritance

That I gave you;

And I will make you serve your benemies

In the cland which you do not know;

For you have dkindled a fire in My anger

Which will burn forever.

5 Thus says the Lord,

“aCursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes bflesh his 1strength,

And whose heart turns away from the Lord.

6 “For he will be like a abush in the desert

And will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,

A bland of salt 1without inhabitant.

7 “aBlessed is the man who trusts in the Lord

And whose btrust is the Lord.

8 “For he will be like a atree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of bdrought

Nor cease to yield fruit.

9 “The aheart is more bdeceitful than all else

And is desperately csick;

Who can understand it?

10 “I, the Lord, asearch the heart,

I test the 1mind,

Even bto give to each man according to his ways,

According to the 2results of his deeds.

11 “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,

So is he who amakes a fortune, but unjustly;

In the midst of his days it will forsake him,

And in 1the end he will be a bfool.”

12 aA glorious throne on high from the beginning

Is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O Lord, the ahope of Israel,

All who bforsake You will be put to shame.

Those who turn 1away on earth will be cwritten down,

Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord.

14 aHeal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;

bSave me and I will be saved,

For You are my cpraise.