Jeremiah 17:1–9

Judah’s Sin and Punishment

¹“The sin of Judah

is inscribed with an iron chisel—

engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts

and on the corners of their altars.

²Even their children go to worship

at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,

beneath every green tree

and on every high hill.

³So I will hand over my holy mountain—

along with all your wealth and treasures

and your pagan shrines—

as plunder to your enemies,

for sin runs rampant in your land.

⁴The wonderful possession I have reserved for you

will slip from your hands.

I will tell your enemies to take you

as captives to a foreign land.

For my anger blazes like a fire

that will burn forever.”

Wisdom from the Lord

⁵This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,

who rely on human strength

and turn their hearts away from the Lord.

⁶They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,

with no hope for the future.

They will live in the barren wilderness,

in an uninhabited salty land.

⁷“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord

and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

⁸They are like trees planted along a riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

and they never stop producing fruit.

⁹“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,

and desperately wicked.

Who really knows how bad it is?