Jeremiah 17:10

10 I Jehovah do search the heart, try the reins, Even to give to each according to his way, According to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 17:10

I the Lord search the heart
The inward parts of it, every room and corner in it; and know the thoughts of it; all its intents, purposes, designs, contrivances, and imaginations; all the secret motions of it, and the wickedness that is in it; so that this is an answer to the question in the preceding verse; and therefore, though the heart is deceitful, it cannot deceive him, because he judges not according to outward appearance; he sees and knows the heart; and none but the Lord, or he who is Jehovah, can so search the heart as thus to know it; wherefore, since Christ is said to search the reins and the heart, and to know the thoughts of men, and to be a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, he must be Jehovah, and the true God, ( Revelation 2:23 ) ( Matthew 19:4 ) ( Hebrews 4:12 Hebrews 4:13 ) :

I try the reins;
the most inward and remote parts, covered with fat, and out of sight: these are the seat of the affections; and the Lord tries these, whether they are towards him or not; and whether sincere or hypocritical; Christ the omniscient God knew Peter's love to him, and the sincerity of it; for which he appeals to him as such, ( John 21:17 ) :

even to give every man accordions to his ways, and according to the
fruit of his doings;
to do which it is necessary to search the heart, and try the reins, the fountain of all actions; and in which the principles of them are, and according to which they are denominated and judged of: in the future judgment every secret thing will be brought into account; the counsels of the heart will be made manifest; the book of conscience will be opened; and out of it, as well as other books, men will be judged according to their ways and works; and therefore it is requisite that the Judge should be the Lord God omniscient, the searcher and trier of the hearts and reins, as Christ is.

Jeremiah 17:10 In-Context

8 And hath been as a tree planted by waters, And by a rivulet he sendeth forth his roots, And he doth not see when heat cometh, And his leaf hath been green, And in a year of dearth he is not sorrowful, Nor doth he cease from making fruit.

9 Crooked [is] the heart above all things, And it [is] incurable -- who doth know it?

10 I Jehovah do search the heart, try the reins, Even to give to each according to his way, According to the fruit of his doings.

11 A partridge hatching, and not bringing forth, [Is] one making wealth, and not by right, In the midst of his days he doth forsake it, And in his latter end -- he is a fool.

12 A throne of honour on high from the beginning, The place of our sanctuary,