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Jeremiah 17

KJV · Chapter 17/52

1The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

2Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.

3O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

4And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

5Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

6For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

7Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

11As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

12A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

13O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

14Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

15Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.

16As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

17Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

18Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

19Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

25Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

26And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord.

27But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

📖 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 17:15Jeremiah reports the mockery he suffers: people openly doubt his prophecies, daring him to show whether the announced judgment will actually happen.
  16. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 17:22Details the practical requirement: no working or carrying loads on the Sabbath — a visible commandment, easy to verify publicly, unlike inward sins.
  23. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 17:24God presents a concrete, visible condition: keeping the Sabbath properly would be practical proof that the people were taking the covenant seriously.
  25. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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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