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17:1  “The sin of Judah is written with an iron ·tool [L pen]. Their sins were cut with a ·hard [L diamond] point into the ·stone that is [L tablet of] their hearts. Their sins were cut into the ·corners [L horns] of their altars [Ex. 27:2].
17:2  Even their children remember their altars [C to idols] and their ·Asherah idols [sacred poles; L Asherim] beside the green trees and on the high hills [2:20].
17:3  My mountain in the open country and your wealth and treasures I will give ·away to other people [L as plunder]. I will give away the places of worship in your country, because you sinned by worshiping there.
17:4  You will ·lose [drop] the ·land [L inheritance] I gave you, and it is your own fault. I will ·let your enemies take you as their slaves [L make you serve your enemies] to a land you have never known. This is because you ·have made my anger burn like a hot fire [L kindled a fire in my anger], and it will burn forever [15:11–14].”
17:5  This is what the Lord says: “·A curse is placed on [L Cursed are] those who ·trust [have confidence in] other people, who ·depend on humans for [L make flesh their] strength, who have ·stopped trusting [L turned their heart from] the Lord.
17:6  They are like a ·bush [shrub; or juniper] in a ·desert [steppe] that ·grows in a land where no one lives [L lives in a salt land where no one lives], a ·hot and dry land with bad soil [L parched land in the wilderness]. They don’t ·know about the good things God can give [L see when good comes].
17:7  “But the person who ·trusts [has confidence] in the Lord will be blessed. ·The Lord will show him that he can be trusted [L …whose trust/confidence is in him].
17:8  He will be like a tree planted near water [C vital and strong] that sends its roots by a stream [Ps. 1:3]. It is not afraid when the ·days are hot [L heat comes]; its leaves are always green. It ·does not worry [is not anxious] in a year ·when no rain comes [of drought]; it always produces fruit.
17:9  “·More than anything else [T Above all things], ·a person’s mind is evil [T the heart is deceitful; L the heart is devious/crooked] and ·cannot be healed [T desperately wicked; L it is perverse/sick]. Who can ·understand [know] it?
17:10  But I, the Lord, ·look into a person’s [investigate/test the] heart and test the ·mind [L kidneys]. ·So I can decide what each one deserves [L …to give to each according to his way/path]; I can give each one the right payment for what he does.”
17:11  Like a ·bird [L partridge] hatching an egg it did not lay, so are the people who get rich ·by cheating [unjustly]. When their ·lives [L days] are half finished, ·they will lose their riches [L it will leave/abandon them]. At the end of their lives, it will be clear they were fools.
17:12  From the beginning, our ·Temple [L sanctuary] has been ·honored [L exalted] as a glorious throne [C for God; Is. 6:1–3; Ezek. 1:26–28; 43:2–5].
17:13  Lord, hope of Israel, those who ·leave [abandon; forsake] you will be ·shamed [humiliated]. People who ·quit following the Lord [L turn away from you] will be ·written [recorded] in the ·dust [or underworld], because they have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, the spring of living water [2:13].
17:14  Lord, heal me, and I will truly be healed. ·Save [Rescue] me, and I will truly be ·saved [rescued]. You are ·the one I praise [L my praise].
17:15  The people of Judah keep asking me, “Where is the word from the Lord? ·Let’s see that message come true [L Let it come]!”
17:16  Lord, I didn’t ·run away from [or insist on] being the shepherd ·you wanted [L after you]. I didn’t want the ·terrible day [or day of despair] to come. You know ·everything I have said [L what comes out of my lips]; ·you see all that is happening [L it was before your face].
17:17  Don’t be a terror to me. ·I run to you for safety [L You are my refuge] in ·times [L days] of ·trouble [disaster; evil].
17:18  Make those who are ·hurting [persecuting; pursuing] me be ·ashamed [humiliated], but don’t bring ·shame to [humiliation on] me. Let them be terrified, but keep me from terror. Bring the day of ·disaster [evil; trouble] on them [C my enemies]. Destroy them, ·and destroy them again [L with double destruction].
17:19  This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the People’s Gate [C of Jerusalem], where the kings of Judah go in and out. And then go to all the other gates of Jerusalem.
17:20  Say to them there: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, all you people of Judah, and all who live in Jerusalem, who come through these gates into the city.
17:21  This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to ·carry [lift] a ·load [burden] on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.
17:22  Don’t take a ·load [burden] out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work on that day. But keep the Sabbath as a holy day, as I commanded your ·ancestors [fathers; Ex. 20:8–11; 31:12–18; Deut. 5:12–15].
17:23  But your ·ancestors [fathers] did not listen or ·pay attention [L incline their ear] to me. They ·were very stubborn [L stiffened their necks] and did not listen. ·I punished them, but it didn’t do any good [L They did not take instruction/discipline].
17:24  But you must ·be careful to obey [listen to] me, says the Lord. You must not bring a ·load [burden] through the gates of this city [C Jerusalem] on the Sabbath, but you must keep the Sabbath as a holy day and not do any work on that day.
17:25  “‘If you obey this command, kings who sit on David’s throne [2 Sam. 7:11–16] will come through the gates of ·Jerusalem [L this city] with their officers. They will come riding in chariots and on horses, along with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And ·the city of Jerusalem [L this city] will have people living in it forever.
17:26  People will come [C to Jerusalem] from the villages around it, from the towns of Judah, from the land of Benjamin, from the ·western hills [L Shephelah], from the mountains, and from ·southern Judah [L the Negev]. They will all bring to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17], sacrifices, ·grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [Lev. 2:1], incense, and ·offerings to show thanks to God [thank offerings].
17:27  But you must obey me and keep the Sabbath day as a holy day. You must not carry any loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. If you don’t ·obey [listen to] me, to keep the Sabbath day as a holy day, I will ·start [kindle] a fire at its gates [C of Jerusalem], and it will ·burn until it burns even [L consume; devour] the ·strong towers [palaces]. And it will not be put out.’”