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Jeremiah 17
Easy-to-Read Version
Jeremiah 17
Easy-to-Read Version
Guilt Written on the Heart
17 “The sins of Judah are written where they cannot be erased—
cut into stone with an iron pen,
cut deep with a hard tip into the stone that is the hearts of the people.
Their sins are carved into the horns of their altars.[a]
2 Their children remember the altars
that were dedicated to false gods.
They remember the wooden poles
that were dedicated to Asherah.
They remember those things
under the green trees and on the hills.
3 They remember those things
on the mountains in the open country.
The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give those things to other people.
People will destroy all the high places in your country.
You worshiped there, and that was a sin.
4 You will lose the land I gave you.
I will let your enemies take you to be their slaves.
That is because I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire, and you will be burned forever.”
Trusting in People and Trusting in God
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Bad things will happen to those who put their trust in people.
Bad things will happen to those who depend on human strength.
That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord.
6 They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives.
It is in a hot and dry land.
It is in bad soil.
That bush does not know about the good things that God can give.
7 “But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed.
They know that the Lord will do what he says.
8 They will be strong like trees planted near a stream
that send out roots to the water.
They have nothing to fear when the days get hot.
Their leaves are always green.
They never worry, even in a year that has no rain.
They always produce fruit.
9 “Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind.
It can be very sick,
and no one really understands it.
10 But I am the Lord,
and I can look into a person’s heart.
I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have.
I can give each person the right payment for what they do.
11 Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay.
Those who cheat to get money are like that bird.
But when their lives are half finished, they will lose the money.
At the end of their lives, it will be clear that they were fools.”
12 From the very beginning, our Temple
has been a glorious throne for God.
It is a very important place.
13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel.
You are like a spring of living water.
Those who stop following the Lord
will have a very short life.[b]
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
14 Lord, if you heal me, I surely will be healed.
Save me, and I surely will be saved.
Lord, I praise you!
15 The people of Judah continue to ask me questions.
They say, “Jeremiah, what about the message from the Lord?
Let’s see that message come true.”
16 Lord, I did not run away from you.
I followed you.
I became the shepherd[c] you wanted.
I did not want the terrible day to come.
You know what I said.
You see all that is happening.
17 Please don’t make me afraid of you.
I depend on you in times of trouble.
18 People are hurting me.
Make them ashamed,
but don’t disappoint me.
Let them be filled with fear,
but don’t give me any reason to fear.
Bring the terrible day of disaster to my enemies.
Break them, and break them again.
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Jeremiah, go and stand at the People’s Gate,[d] where the kings of Judah go in and out. Tell the people my message, and then go to all the other gates of Jerusalem and do the same.”
20 Say to the people, “Listen to this message from the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah. Listen, all you people of Judah. All you who come through these gates into Jerusalem, listen to me! 21 This is what the Lord says: ‘Be careful that you don’t carry a load on the Sabbath day. And don’t bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22 Don’t bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work on that day. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. I gave this same command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me. 24 But you must be careful to obey me, says the Lord. You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.
25 “‘If you obey this command, the kings and leaders will be from David’s family. It will be the kings who sit on David’s throne and the leaders from Judah and Jerusalem who come through the gates of Jerusalem riding on chariots and on horses. And Jerusalem will have people living in it forever. 26 People will come to Jerusalem from the towns and villages of Judah, from the land where the tribe of Benjamin lives,[e] from the western foothills, from the hill country, and from the Negev. All these people will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thank offerings to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.
27 “‘But if you don’t listen to me and obey me, bad things will happen. If you carry loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, you are not keeping it as a holy day. So I will start a fire that cannot be put out. That fire will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will burn until it burns even the palaces.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:1 horns of their altars The corners of altars were shaped like horns, and the blood of sacrifices was smeared on them. So Jeremiah may mean that the people’s sins have made their altars unfit for sacrifices.
- Jeremiah 17:13 will have a very short life Literally, “he will be written in the dirt.” This might mean that a person’s name was written on a list of people who would soon die, or that a person’s life will soon be gone—like a name written in the sand.
- Jeremiah 17:16 shepherd God’s people are sometimes called his “sheep,” and the person who takes care of them is called the “shepherd.”
- Jeremiah 17:19 People’s Gate This might be one of the gates into Jerusalem or perhaps one of the southern gates into the Temple area used by those who were not priests.
- Jeremiah 17:26 the land where … Benjamin lives The land of Benjamin was just north of the land of Judah.
Jeremiah 17
New International Version
Jeremiah 17
New International Version
17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(A)
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(B)
and on the horns(C) of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a](D)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(E)
3 My mountain in the land
and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(F)
together with your high places,(G)
because of sin throughout your country.(H)
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance(I) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(J)
in a land(K) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn(L) forever.”
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(M)
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(N)
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 places(O) of the desert,
in a salt(P) land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed(Q) is the one who trusts(R) 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.(S)
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(T)
and never fails to bear fruit.”(U)
9 The heart(V) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(W)
and examine the mind,(X)
to reward(Y) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(Z)
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.(AA)
12 A glorious throne,(AB) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AC) of Israel;
all who forsake(AD) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AE)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(AF)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AG)
save(AH) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(AI)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(AJ)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(AK) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(AL) to me;
you are my refuge(AM) in the day of disaster.(AN)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction.(AO)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(AP) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(AQ) who come through these gates.(AR) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(AS) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(AT) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(AU) they were stiff-necked(AV) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(AW) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(AX) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(AY) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(AZ) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(BA) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(BB) me to keep the Sabbath(BC) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(BD) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BE)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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