“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,h

inscribed with a flint point,

on the tablets of their heartsi

and on the hornsj of their altars.

2 Even their children remember

their altars and Asherah polesa k

beside the spreading trees

and on the high hills.l

3 My mountain in the land

and yourb wealth and all your treasures

I will give away as plunder,m

together with your high places,n

because of sin throughout your country.o

4 Through your own fault you will lose

the inheritancep I gave you.

I will enslave you to your enemiesq

in a landr you do not know,

for you have kindled my anger,

and it will burns forever.”

5 This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,t

who draws strength from mere flesh

and whose heart turns away from the Lord.u

6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched placesv of the desert,

in a saltw land where no one lives.

7 “But blessedx is the one who trustsy in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

8 They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.z

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of droughta

and never fails to bear fruit.”b

9 The heartc is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heartd

and examine the mind,e

to rewardf each person according to their conduct,

according to what their deeds deserve.”g

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay

are those who gain riches by unjust means.

When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,

and in the end they will prove to be fools.h

12 A glorious throne,i exalted from the beginning,

is the place of our sanctuary.

13 Lord, you are the hopej of Israel;

all who forsakek you will be put to shame.

Those who turn away from you will be written in the dustl

because they have forsaken the Lord,

the spring of living water.m

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

saveo me and I will be saved,

for you are the one I praise.p