Jeremiah 17

Trust and Its Outcomes Jeremiah 17:5–8

⁵Verse 5. Yahweh says:“Cursed is the man who trusts in man,relies on strength of flesh,and whose heart departs from Yahweh.⁶Verse 6. For he will be like a bush in the desert,and will not see when good comes,but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,an uninhabited salt land.⁷Verse 7. “Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh,and whose confidence is in Yahweh.⁸Verse 8. For he will be as a tree planted by the waters,who spreads out its roots by the river,and will not fear when heat comes,but its leaf will be green;and will not be concerned in the year of drought.It won’t cease from yielding fruit.

The Deceitfulness of the Heart Jeremiah 17:9–11

⁹Verse 9. The heart is deceitful above all thingsand it is exceedingly corrupt.Who can know it?¹⁰Verse 10. “I, Yahweh, search the mind.I try the heart,even to give every man according to his ways,according to the fruit of his doings.”¹¹Verse 11. As the partridge that sits on eggs which she has not laid,so is he who gets riches, and not by right.In the middle of his days, they will leave him.At his end, he will be a fool.

Yahweh as Sanctuary Jeremiah 17:12–14

¹²Verse 12. A glorious throne, set on high from the beginning,is the place of our sanctuary.¹³Verse 13. Yahweh, the hope of Israel,all who forsake you will be disappointed.Those who depart from me will be written in the earth,because they have forsaken Yahweh,the spring of living waters.¹⁴Verse 14. Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed.Save me, and I will be saved;for you are my praise.

Jeremiah's Plea Amidst Scorn Jeremiah 17:15–18

¹⁵Verse 15. Behold, they tell me,“Where is Yahweh’s word?Let it be fulfilled now.”¹⁶Verse 16. As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you.I haven’t desired the woeful day. You know.That which came out of my lips was before your face.¹⁷Verse 17. Don’t be a terror to me.You are my refuge in the day of evil.¹⁸Verse 18. Let them be disappointed who persecute me,but let not me be disappointed.Let them be dismayed,but don’t let me be dismayed.Bring on them the day of evil,and destroy them with double destruction.

Call to Honor the Sabbath Jeremiah 17:19–22

¹⁹Verse 19. Yahweh said this to me: “Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. ²⁰Verse 20. Tell them, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: ²¹Verse 21. Yahweh says, “Be careful, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. ²²Verse 22. Don’t carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work, but make the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

Consequences for Disobedience Jeremiah 17:23–27

²³Verse 23. But they didn’t listen. They didn’t turn their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, and might not receive instruction. ²⁴Verse 24. It will happen, if you diligently listen to me,” says Yahweh, “to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to make the Sabbath day holy, to do no work therein; ²⁵Verse 25. then there will enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on David’s throne, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city will remain forever.

²⁶Verse 26. They will come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country, and from the South, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, meal offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving, to Yahweh’s house. ²⁷Verse 27. But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem. It will not be quenched.”’”