Jeremiah 17:1-8 ▼

1 The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus; With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart And on the horns of their altars.

2 As they remember their children, So they remember [in detail] their [pagan] altars and their Asherim Beside green trees on the high hills.

3 O [Jerusalem] My mountain in the countryside, I will give [to the Babylonians, as the cost of your sin] your wealth and all your treasures as plunder, And throughout your territory, your high places of sin.

4 And you will, through your own fault, let go of your [grip on your] inheritance That I gave you; And I will make you serve your enemies In a land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger Which will burn forever.

5 Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind, Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength, And whose mind and heart turn away from the LORD.

6 “For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness, In an uninhabited salt land.

7 “Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD.

8 “For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, That spreads out its roots by the river; And will not fear the heat when it comes; But its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought Nor stop bearing fruit.