Jeremiah 17:13

13 LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.

Jeremiah 17:13 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
13 O 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from youshall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.
The Message Bible (MSG)
13 O God, you're the hope of Israel. All who leave you end up as fools, Deserters with nothing to show for their lives, who walk off from God, fountain of living waters - and wind up dead!
American Standard Version (ASV)
13 O Jehovah, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be put to shame. They that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
13 O LORD, the Hope of Israel, all who abandon you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in dust, because they abandon the LORD, the fountain of life-giving water.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
13 Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away from Me will be written in the dirt, for they have abandoned the fountain of living water, the Lord.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
13 Lord, you are Israel's only hope. Everyone who deserts you will be put to shame. The names of those who turn away from you will be listed among the dead. Lord, they have deserted you. You are the spring of water that gives life.

Jeremiah 17:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 17:13

O Lord, the Hope of Israel
Of all true Israelites; such as are regenerate persons, and true believers in him; Christ is the author and giver of that hope that is in them; the door of it unto them; the object on which it is exercised; the ground and foundation of it, or what gives encouragement to it; and the person they are hoping for; Old Testament saints hoped, waited for, and expected his first coming; and New Testament saints are hoping for his second coming, and to be for ever with him F23:

all that forsake thee shall be ashamed;
who forsake him as the Hope of Israel, and place their hope elsewhere; in the creature, in themselves, in their riches, in their righteousness, and profession of religion; such shall be ashamed of their vain hope; whereas a true hope, a hope upon the right object, on Christ the Hope of Israel, makes not ashamed; nor shall the man that has it be ashamed of that. The Targum paraphrases it,

``all who forsake thy worship shall be ashamed;''

for they forsake their own mercies, who forsake the house and ordinances of God, and the assembling of themselves together:

and they that depart from me;
the prophet; refusing to hear the word of the Lord by him, which was all one as departing from the Lord. Some render it, "from thee", as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions; and so the Targum,

``and the ungodly that transgress thy word;''

whose heart departed from the Lord, as in Jer 17:1
notwithstanding their show of devotion and religion. Some render the words, "that are chastised by me"; but repent not, and are not reformed thereby; reading not (yrwow) , as the Masorites direct, and we, and many others, follow; but according to the letters, and retaining them, (yrwoy) F24:

shall be written in the earth;
have a name among earthly and carnal men, and be called so, being sensual and carnal, and minding nothing but earth and earthly things; and shall not be written among the living in Jerusalem, or have a name and a place among spiritual men: or they shall be of a short continuance; their memory shall rot; their names be put out for ever; and their memorial perish with them; for things written in the dust do not continue, but are presently destroyed by a puff of wind, or by the treading of the foot upon them; or they shall die, and return to the earth, and be laid in the grave, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; or shall perish eternally, die the second death, being not written in the Lamb's book of life. The Targum is,

``into hell shall they fall.''

The phrase is opposed to a being written, or having names written in heaven, ( Luke 10:20 ) ( Hebrews 12:22 ) ; which is the same as to be written in the book of life, or to be ordained unto eternal life, ( Philippians 4:3 ) ( Acts 13:48 ) ; and what is the case of such who are not written in heaven, but in earth, may be seen in ( Revelation 20:15 ) ( 21:27 ) ;

because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters;
(See Gill on Jeremiah 2:13).


FOOTNOTES:

F23 (hwqm) , the word here used, sometimes signifies a confluence or collection of waters, as in ( Genesis 1:10 ) and elsewhere, a place to bathe in; hence Fortunatus Scacchus, in Sacror. Eleaochr. Myrothec. l. 1. c. 23. col. 159. renders it here, "the bath of Israel", the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood is a fountain opened, in which sinners wash, and are cleansed from their sins, Zech. xiii. 1. and this agrees with the latter part of the verse, where the Lord is called "the fountain of living water"; so De Dieu, on ch. xiv. 8, observes, the word is so used in Exod. vii. 21. and so R. Akiba interprets the words, saying,

``what is "the meaning of (hwqm) ? it is that which cleanses the unclean; even so God cleanses Israel;''

and it is, adds De Dieu, as if you were to call God the pool of Israel, or a confluence of waters where Israel may be washed from his filth.
F24 "Castigati a me", Schmidt; so Stockius, p. 455, 725, Junius & Tremellius follow the same reading, only they render the words, not so properly, "castigationes meae".

Jeremiah 17:13 In-Context

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.
12 A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.
13 LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.
14 Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.
15 They keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it now be fulfilled!”

Cross References 4

  • 1. Psalms 71:5; Jeremiah 14:8
  • 2. Isaiah 1:28; S Jeremiah 2:17
  • 3. S Psalms 69:28; Psalms 87:6; Ezekiel 13:9; Daniel 12:1
  • 4. S Isaiah 12:3; John 4:10
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