Jeremiah 17:4-14

4 And thou shalt be left alone from thine heritage which I gave to thee (And thou shalt be taken away from thy inheritance which I gave thee); and I shall make thee to serve thine enemies, in the land which thou knowest not; for thou hast kindled (a) fire in my strong vengeance, it shall burn till into without end.

5 The Lord saith these things, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and setteth flesh his arm, and his heart goeth away from the Lord. (The Lord saith these things, Cursed is the person who trusteth in people, and maketh any flesh his source of power and security, and his heart goeth away from the Lord.)

6 For he shall be as brooms in desert, and he shall not see, when good shall come; but he shall dwell in dryness in desert, in the land of saltness, and unhabitable. (For he shall be like the heather in the wilderness, and he shall not see, when good shall come; but he shall live in the dryness of the desert, yea, in an uninhabitable and salty land.)

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord (Happy is the person who trusteth in the Lord), and the Lord shall be his trust.

8 And he shall be as a tree, which is planted over waters, which sendeth his roots to moisture; and it shall not dread, when heat shall come; and the leaf thereof shall be green, and it shall not be moved in the time of dryness, neither any time it shall fail to make fruit. (And he shall be like a tree, which is planted by the waters, which sendeth out its roots to moisture; and it shall not have any fear, when the heat shall come; and its leaves shall be green, and it shall not be moved in the time of drought, nor at any time shall it fail to make fruit.)

9 The heart of man is shrewd, and unsearchable; who shall know it? (Each person's heart is depraved, and unknowable; who can understand it?)

10 I am the Lord seeking the heart, and proving the reins, either kidneys, and I give to each man after his way, and after the fruit of his findings. (I am the Lord searching the minds, and proving the hearts, and I give to each person after his own ways, and after the fruit of his own deeds.)

11 (As) A partridge nourished those things which she breeded not; (so) he made riches, and not in doom (Like a partridge nourished those young which she did not bring forth, so he made riches, but not justly); in the midst of his days he shall forsake them, and in his last time he shall be unwise.

12 The seat of glory of highness was at the beginning the place of our hallowing, the abiding of Israel. (The throne of glory, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary, the abiding of Israel.)

13 Lord, all they that forsake thee, shall be shamed; they that go away from thee, shall be written in [the] earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, a vein of quick waters. (Lord, all they who desert thee, shall be ashamed; they who go away from thee, shall vanish like words written in the sand, for they have deserted the Lord, the vein, or the spring, of living waters.)

14 Lord, heal me, and I shall be healed; make thou me safe, and I shall be safe (save thou me/rescue thou me, and I shall be saved); for thou art my praising.

Jeremiah 17:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 17

This chapter is a further prophecy of the destruction of the Jews, with the causes of it, their sins, as their idolatry, which was notorious; of which their own consciences, their altars, and their children, were witnesses, Jer 17:1,2 for which they are threatened with the spoil of their substance and treasure, and discontinuance in their land, Jer 17:3,4 as also their confidence in an arm of flesh, which brought the curse of God upon them, when such are blessed that trust in him; and the difference between those that trust in men and those that trust in the Lord is illustrated by very apt similes, Jer 17:5-8, the source of which vain confidence is the wicked heart of man, known to none but God, Jer 17:9,10 and the vanity of it is exposed by a partridge sitting on eggs without hatching them, Jer 17:11, and their departure from God, by trusting in the creature, and in outward things, is aggravated by their temple being the throne and seat of the divine Majesty; by what God is to his people that trust in him; and by the shame and ruin that follow an apostasy from him, Jer 17:12,13, wherefore the prophet, sensible of his own backslidings, prays to be healed and saved by the Lord, who should have all the praise and glory, Jer 17:14 and then relates the scoffs of the people at the word of God by him, another cause of their ruin; declares his own innocence and integrity; prays for protection and security from fear in a time of trouble; and for confusion, terror, and destruction to his persecutors, Jer 17:15-18, then follows an order to him from the Lord, to go and stand in the gate of the city, and exhort all ranks of men to the observation of the sabbath, with directions how to keep it, which had not been observed by their fathers, and which was another cause of their ruin, Jer 17:19-23, and the chapter is closed with promises of blessings in city, court, and country, in church and state, should they religiously observe the sabbath day; but if they profaned it, the city of Jerusalem, and its palaces, should be burnt with fire, Jer 17:24-27.