Jer 17, Jer 20 | ESV | STEP | The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron ; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart , and on the horns of their altars ,

1 “The sin of Judah is written with ^aa pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on ^bthe tablet of their heart, and on ^cthe horns of their altars, 2 while ^dtheir children remember their altars and their ^eAsherim, ^fbeside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 ^gon the mountains in the open country. ^hYour wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, ⁱand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, ^jfor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man ^kwho trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength, ^{▼▼Hebrew arm}
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 ^mHe is like a shrub in the desert,
ⁿand shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in ^oan uninhabited salt land.
7 ^p“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
^qwhose trust is the Lord.
8 ^rHe is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 ^s“I the Lord search the heart
^tand test the mind, ^{▼▼Hebrew kidneys}
^vto give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the ^wpartridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is ^xhe who gets riches but not by justice;
^yin the midst of his days they will leave him,
^zand at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, ^aathe hope of Israel,
^aball who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you ^{▼▼Hebrew me} ^adshall be written in the earth,
for ^aethey have forsaken ^afthe Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 ^agHeal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for ^ahyou are my praise.
15 ^aiBehold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
^ajYou know ^akwhat came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
^alyou are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 ^amLet those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
^anlet them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
^aobring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which ^apthe kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ^aqyou kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and ^ardo not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath ^asor do any work, but ^atkeep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet ^authey did not listen or incline their ear, ^avbut stiffened their neck, that they ^awmight not hear and receive instruction.

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and ^axbring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but ^aykeep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then ^azthere shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from ^bathe cities of Judah ^bband the places around Jerusalem, ^bcfrom the land of Benjamin, ^bdfrom the Shephelah, from the hill country, ^beand from ^bfthe Negeb, bringing ^bgburnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and ^bhbringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to ^bikeep the Sabbath day holy, ^bjand not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will ^bkkindle a fire in its gates, and it shall ^bldevour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^bmshall not be quenched.’”

Jeremiah 20

Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

1 Now ^bnPashhur the priest, the son of ^boImmer, who was ^bpchief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then ^bqPashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him ^brin the stocks that were in the upper ^bsBenjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3 The next day, when ^btPashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name ^buPashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you ^bva terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, ^bwI will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its ^bxprized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, ^byPashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, ^bzto whom you have prophesied falsely.”

7 O Lord, ^cayou have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
^cbyou are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
^ccI have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, ^cd“Violence and destruction!”
For ^cethe word of the Lord has become for me
^cfa reproach and ^cgderision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
^chthere is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and ^ciI am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 ^cjFor I hear many whispering.
^ckTerror is on every side!
“Denounce him! ^clLet us denounce him!”
say all my ^cmclose friends,
^cnwatching for ^comy fall.
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then ^cpwe can overcome him
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But ^cqthe Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
^crthey will not overcome me.
^csThey will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their ^cteternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
12 O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,
^cuwho sees the heart and the mind, ^{▼▼Hebrew kidneys}
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
13 ^cwSing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.
14 ^cxCursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,
“A son is born to you,”
^cymaking him very glad.
16 Let that man be like ^czthe cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
^dalet him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,
17 ^dbbecause he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my grave,
and her womb forever great.
18 ^dcWhy did I come out from the womb
^ddto see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?