Jeremias 17

BLIVRE · Chapter 17/52

1O pecado de Judá está escrito com cinzel de ferro, com ponta de diamante; está esculpido na tábua de seu coração, e nas pontas de vossos altares;

2Enquanto seus filhos se lembram de seus altares e de seus bosques, junto às árvores verdes, sobre os altos morros.

3Ó minha montanha no campo! Tua riqueza e todos os teus tesouros darei como despojo por causa do pecado de teus altos em todos teus limites.

4Assim por causa de ti deixarás de ter a herança que eu te dei, e te farei servir a teus inimigos em uma terra que não conheces; porque acendestes fogo em minha ira, que arderá para sempre.

5Assim diz o SENHOR: Maldito o homem que confia no homem, e põe sua confiança na força humana, ) e seu coração se afasta do SENHOR;

6Pois será como um arbusto no deserto, e não sente quando vier o bem; ao invés disso morará nas securas no deserto, em terra salgada e inabitável.

7Bendito o homem que confia no SENHOR, cuja confiança é o SENHOR;

8Porque ele será como a árvore plantada junto a águas, que estende suas raízes junto à corrente; não tem preocupação quando vier o calor, e sua folha permanece verde; e no ano de seca não se cansa, nem deixa de dar fruto.

9O coração é mais enganoso que todas as coisas, e perverso; quem pode conhecê-lo?

10Eu, o SENHOR, que examino o coração, e provo os sentimentos, para dar a cada um conforme seus caminhos, conforme o fruto de suas ações.

11[Como] a perdiz que choca [os ovos] que não pôs, [assim] é o que junta riquezas, mas não com justiça; no meio de seus dias ele deixará de tê-las, e em seu fim ele será tolo.

12Trono de glória, elevado desde o princípio, é o lugar de nosso santuário.

13Ó SENHOR, esperança de Israel! Todos os que te abandonam serão envergonhados; e os que de mim se afastam, serão escritos no chão; pois abandonaram ao SENHOR, a fonte de águas vivas.

14Sara-me, ó SENHOR, e serei sarado; salva-me, e serei salvo; pois tu és meu louvor.

15Eis que eles me dizem: Onde está a palavra do SENHOR? Cumpra-se ela agora!

16Mas eu não me apressei para deixar de ser ser pastor após ti, nem desejei o dia de calamidade, tu o sabes. O que saiu de minha boca foi em tua presença.

17Não sejas tu assombro para mim; tu és minha esperança no dia mal.

18Envergonhem-se os que me perseguem, e eu não me envergonhe; assombre-se eles, e eu não me assombre: traze sobre eles o dia mal, e destrói-os com destruição dobrada.

19Assim me disse o SENHOR: Vai, e põe-te à porta dos filhos do povo, pela qual entram e saem os reis de Judá, e a todas as portas de Jerusalém,

20E dize-lhes: Ouvi a palavra do SENHOR, vós reis de Judá, e todo Judá, e todos os moradores de Jerusalém que entrais por esta portas;

21Assim diz o SENHOR: Guardai-vos por vossas vidas, e não tragais carga no dia do sábado, para fazê-las entrar pelas portas de Jerusalém;

22Nem tireis carga de vossas casas no dia do sábado, nem façais obra alguma; ao invés disso, santificai o dia do sábado, assim como mandei a vossos pais;

23Porém eles não deram ouvidos, nem escutaram; ao invés disso, tornaram-se teimosos, ) para não ouvirem, nem receberem correção.

24Será, pois, se vós me ouvirdes cuidadosamente, diz o SENHOR, não fazendo entrar carga pelas portas desta cidade no dia do sábado, e santificardes o dia do sábado, não fazendo nele nenhuma obra;

25Então entrarão pelas portas desta cidade reis e os príncipes que se sentem sobre o trono de Davi, [montados] em carros e em cavalos; eles e seus príncipes, e os homens de Judá, e os moradores de Jerusalém; e esta cidade será habitada para sempre.

26E [pessoas] virão das cidades de Judá, dos arredores de Jerusalém, da terra de Benjamim, dos campos, do monte, e do Negueve, trazendo holocaustos, sacrifícios, ofertas de alimento e incensos, e trazendo sacrifícios de louvor à casa do SENHOR.

27Porém se não me ouvirdes para santificardes o dia do sábado, e para não trazerdes carga nem fazê-la entrar pelas portas de Jerusalém no dia de sábado, eu acenderei fogo em suas portas, que consumirá os palácios de Jerusalém, e não se apagará.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jeremiah compares those who trust in man to a shrub in the desert, and those who trust in the Lord to a tree planted by the waters. The chapter closes with a call to keep the Sabbath in Jerusalem.

Explanation

The image of the tree planted by a stream, unafraid of heat and still bearing fruit even in a year of drought, is one of the Bible's best-known metaphors for trust in God — very similar to Psalm 1. The contrast with the 'shrub in the desert,' a hardy plant but isolated in salty land, illustrates the difference between a life rooted in God and a life that depends only on its own resources. The final command about keeping the Sabbath shows how a simple, concrete act of obedience (not working on that day) was directly tied to the people's remaining in the land — the small and the great walk together in faithfulness.

Fun facts

  • The tree planted by the waters is almost identical in wording to Psalm 1:3, suggesting a shared wisdom tradition within Hebrew literature.
  • The 'gates of Jerusalem' mentioned in connection with the Sabbath were real commercial checkpoints of the walled city, where goods entered and left — breaking the Sabbath there had a direct and visible economic impact.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 17:1Saying that the sin is engraved with iron and a diamond point is the opposite of forgetting. It isn’t a passing lapse but something deeply carved, like an inscription in stone that won’t wear off.
  2. Jeremias 17:2The sin engraved on the people’s heart is even passed down to their children: idolatry became a family tradition, handed down as naturally as any other custom.
  3. Jeremias 17:3God announces that all the wealth of the territory, Jerusalem and its surroundings, will be handed over as plunder of war because of the sin spread throughout the land.
  4. Jeremias 17:4Makes clear that the loss of the promised land is the result of the people’s own choice, not a whim of God’s — it was they who “kindled” this wrath with their idolatry.
  5. Jeremias 17:5Opens a piece of wisdom reflection, in the style of Proverbs and Psalms: trusting in human strength while ignoring God is described outright as a curse.
  6. Jeremias 17:6Compares someone who trusts only in himself to a desert shrub, which never enjoys the good seasons because it is rooted in dry, salty ground, unable to thrive.
  7. Jeremias 17:7Makes the direct contrast with verse 5: whoever trusts in God, unlike whoever trusts only in himself, receives blessing instead of a curse.
  8. Jeremias 17:8Compares whoever trusts in God to a well-watered tree, which stays green and fruitful even in a season of drought — resilient precisely because of its secure roots.
  9. Jeremias 17:9The deceitful heart is one of the most quoted verses in the book. It doesn’t speak of a weak heart, but of a heart that deceives its own owner — the idea that no one can fully trust their own moral judgment without some correction from outside.
  10. Jeremias 17:10After saying the human heart is too deceitful to be known even by itself, God states that only He truly examines it, and judges each person by their actual deeds.
  11. Jeremias 17:11Compares someone who grows rich unjustly to a partridge that hatches eggs that are not her own — ill-gotten wealth does not last, and in the end reveals the folly of whoever chased it that way.
  12. Jeremias 17:12After so much criticism, this verse is almost a pause for praise: it acknowledges the temple as a place of honor from the very beginning, even though it will be destroyed because of sin.
  13. Jeremias 17:13Returns to the central image of chapter 2: abandoning God, called the fountain of living waters, is the root of all the shame and ruin the people are about to face.
  14. Jeremias 17:14Here Jeremiah begins speaking in personal prayer, asking for healing and salvation directly from God — a sincere cry for help in the middle of a difficult mission.
  15. Jeremias 17:15Jeremiah reports the mockery he suffers: people openly doubt his prophecies, daring him to show whether the announced judgment will actually happen.
  16. Jeremias 17:16Jeremiah defends himself: he did not want to announce disaster for pleasure or in haste — everything he said, God knows, was faithful to the mission received, not his own invention.
  17. Jeremias 17:17Jeremiah asks that God not also become a source of terror for him, since it is precisely in God that he seeks refuge for the difficult day ahead.
  18. Jeremias 17:18Jeremiah asks that shame and punishment fall on his persecutors, not on him — an outpouring from someone worn out from being attacked for carrying out the mission.
  19. Jeremias 17:19God tells Jeremiah to preach at a busy spot, where kings and common people pass by — the next topic, the Sabbath, needs to reach everyone.
  20. Jeremias 17:20Specifically calls kings and common people together to hear the next message, showing that the requirement to keep the Sabbath applied to every level of society.
  21. Jeremias 17:21The sermon about keeping the Sabbath seems like an isolated topic amid so much politics and war, but for Jeremiah it was a practical, visible test of obedience. Every Sabbath, at the city gates, you could see whether the people were taking the covenant seriously or not.
  22. Jeremias 17:22Details the practical requirement: no working or carrying loads on the Sabbath — a visible commandment, easy to verify publicly, unlike inward sins.
  23. Jeremias 17:23Acknowledges that this specific requirement was also ignored by the people, repeating the pattern of stubbornness already seen in Jeremiah’s other speeches.
  24. Jeremias 17:24God presents a concrete, visible condition: keeping the Sabbath properly would be practical proof that the people were taking the covenant seriously.
  25. Jeremias 17:25The reward for keeping the Sabbath would be enormous: the permanence of David’s dynasty on the throne and the continuity of Jerusalem as an inhabited city forever.
  26. Jeremias 17:26Describes a vision of prosperity: people coming from every part of the region to bring offerings to the temple, a sign of a nation living in peace and faithfulness.
  27. Jeremias 17:27Closes the chapter with the opposite consequence: if the Sabbath is not respected, the fire of judgment will consume the city without stopping.

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