Jeremiah 17:1-18

New American Standard Bible

The Deceitful Heart

17 The ^(A)sin of Judah is written with an ^(B)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is ^(C)engraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of ^[a]their altars,
²As they remember their ^(D)children,
So they remember their altars and their ^[b]^(E)Asherim
By ^(F)green trees on the high hills.
³^(G)Mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will ^(H)turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
⁴And you will, even of yourself, ^(I)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your ^(J)enemies
In the ^(K)land which you do not know;
For you have ^(L)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.

⁵This is what the Lord says:
“^(M)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes ^(N)flesh his ^[c]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶For he will be like a ^(O)bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A ^(P)land of salt that is not inhabited.
⁷^(Q)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose ^(R)trust is the Lord.
⁸For he will be like a ^(S)tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of ^(T)drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.

⁹“The ^(U)heart is more ^(V)deceitful than all else
And is desperately ^(W)sick;
Who can understand it?
¹⁰I, the Lord, ^(X)search the heart,
I test the ^[d]mind,
^(Y)To give to each person according to his ways,
According to the ^[e]results of his deeds.
¹¹As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who ^(Z)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in ^[f]the end he will be a ^(AA)fool.”

¹²^(AB)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³Lord, the ^(AC)hope of Israel,
All who ^(AD)abandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn ^[g]away on earth will be ^(AE)written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
¹⁴^(AF)Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
^(AG)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my ^(AH)praise.
¹⁵Look, they keep ^(AI)saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
¹⁶But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You,
Nor have I longed for the disastrous day;
^(AJ)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
¹⁷Do not be a ^(AK)terror to me;
You are my ^(AL)refuge in a day of disaster.
¹⁸Let those who persecute me be ^(AM)put to shame, but as for me, ^(AN)let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
^(AO)Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with double destruction!