Jeremiah 17:1-6

The Sin of Judah

1 "The sin of Judah is written with r a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on s the tablet of their heart, and on t the horns of their altars, 2 while u their children remember their altars and their v Asherim, w beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 x on the mountains in the open country. y Your 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, z and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, a for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever."

5 Thus says the Lord:
"Cursed is the man b who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength, 1
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
 6 c He is like a shrub in the desert,
d and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in e an uninhabited salt land.

  1. Cross References
    Job 19:24
    Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!
  2. Cross References
    Proverbs 3:3
    Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
    Proverbs 7:3
    Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
    2 Corinthians 3:3
    And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 27:2
    And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.
    Psalms 118:27
    The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 19:5
    And have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind -
  5. Cross References
    Judges 3:7
    And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
    Deuteronomy 16:21
    You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:29
    For they shall be ashamed of the oaks that you desired; and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen.
    Jeremiah 2:20
    For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve.' Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 48:1 - 2
    Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain.
    Psalms 87:1
    On the holy mount stands the city he founded.
    Isaiah 2:3
    And many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:13
    Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:14
    I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:22
    For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
  11. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:8
    With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles." And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
    Psalms 146:3
    Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 48:6
    Flee! Save yourselves! You will be like a juniper in the desert!
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:32
    Therefore thus says the Lord : Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.'
    Job 20:17
    He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.
    Psalms 34:12
    What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
  14. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:23
    The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
    Job 39:6
    To whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place?
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.