think that “in the earth” (bāʾāreṣ) here means Sheol or the underworld (see NRSV). Writing in dust could also indicate that the memory of those who forsake Yahweh will be easily erased from the land of the living (Fretheim 2002, 260). This is Yahweh’s judgment on those who forsake the fountain of living water, the true source of life and the hope of Israel and the nations. The text as a whole thus treats trust or misplaced trust as a life-and-death issue. FROM THE TEXT Human beings’ attempt to