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17 <1> "The sins of the people of Judah
are written down in a place
where they cannot be erased.
Their sins were cut into stone
with an iron pen.
Their sins were cut into stone
with a diamond-tipped pen,[119]
and that stone is their heart.
Their sins were cut
into the horns of their altars.[120]
<2> Their children remember the altars
that were dedicated to false gods.
They remember the wooden poles
that were dedicated to Asherah.[121]
They remember those things
under the green trees and on the hills.
<3> They remember those things
on the mountains in the open country.
The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give those things to other people.
People will destroy all the high places[122] in your country.
You worshiped there,
and that was a sin.
<4> You will lose the land I gave you.
I will let your enemies take you to be their slaves.
That is because I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire, and you will be burned forever."
<5> This is what the Lord says:
"Bad things will happen to those
who trust only other people.
Bad things will happen to those
who depend on others for strength.
That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord.
<6> They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives.
It is in a hot and dry land.
It is in a bad soil.
That bush does not know
about the good things that God can give.
<7> But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed.
They know that the Lord will do what he says.
<8> They will be strong like trees planted near a stream
that send out roots to the water.
They have nothing to fear when the days get hot.
Their leaves are always green.
They never worry, even in a year that has no rain.
They always produce fruit.
<9> "The human mind is very tricky.
It can be very sick,
and no one really understands it.
<10> But I am the Lord,
and I can look into a person's heart.
I can test a person's mind
and decide what each one should have.
I can give each person the right payment for what they do.
<11> Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg
that it did not lay.
Those who cheat to get money
are like that bird.
But when their lives are half finished,
they will lose the money.
At the end of their lives, it will be clear
they were fools."
<12> From the very beginning, our Temple[123]
has been a glorious throne for God.
It is a very important place.
<13> Lord, you are the hope of Israel.
You are like a spring of living water.
Those who stop following the Lord
will have a very short life.[124]
<14> Lord, if you heal me,
I surely will be healed.
Save me,
and I surely will be saved.
Lord, I praise you!
<15> The people of Judah continue to ask me questions.
They say, "Jeremiah, what about the message from the Lord?
Let's see that message come true."
<16> Lord, I did not run away from you.
I followed you.
I became the shepherd[125] you wanted.
I did not want the terrible day to come.
Lord, you know what I said.
You see all that is happening.
<17> Lord, don't ruin me.
I depend on you in times of trouble.
<18> People are hurting me.
Make them ashamed,
but don't disappoint me.
Let them be scared,
but don't scare me.
Bring the terrible day of disaster to my enemies.
Break them, and break them again.
<19> This is what the Lord said to me: "Jeremiah, go and stand at the People's Gate,[126] where the kings of Judah go in and out. [Tell the people my message, and then] go to all the other gates of Jerusalem and do the same."
<20> Say to the people, "Listen to the message of the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah. Listen, all you people of Judah. All you who come through these gates into Jerusalem, listen to me! <21> This is what the Lord says: 'Be careful that you don't carry a load on the Sabbath[127] day. And don't bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. <22> Don't bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don't do any work on that day. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. I gave this same command to your ancestors,[128] <23> but they did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me. <24> But you mus t be careful to obey me, says the Lord. You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.
<25> "'If you obey this command, the kings and leaders will be from David's family. It will be the kings who sit on David's throne and the leaders from Judah and Jerusalem who come through the gates of Jerusalem riding on chariots[129] and on horses. And Jerusalem will have people living in it forever. <26> People will come to Jerusalem from the towns and villages of Judah, from the land where the tribe of Benjamin lives,[130] from the western foothills, from the hill country, and from the Negev.[131] All these people will bring burnt offerings,[132] sacrifices, grain offerings, incense,[133] and thank offerings to the Temple[134] of the Lord in Jerusalem.
<27> "'But if you don't listen to me and obey me, bad things will happen. If you carry loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, you are not keeping it a holy day. So I will start a fire that cannot be put out. That fire will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will burn until it burns even the palaces.'"
© Copyright 2004 World Bible Translation Center.