Jeremiah 17:1–9

The Deceitful Heart

¹The ^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,

²As they remember their ^achildren,

So they remember their altars and their ^1bAsherim

By ^cgreen trees on the high hills.

³O ^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.

⁴And 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.

⁵Thus 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?