“1 The sin of Judah [is] written with a pen of iron, [and] with the
point of a diamond: [it is] graven upon the table of their heart, and
upon the horns of your altars; 2 Whilst their children remember their
altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. 3 O my
mountain in the field, I will give thy substance [and] all thy treasures
to the spoil, [and] thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.
4 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I
gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land
which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger,
[which] shall burn for ever.”
“5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and
maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he
shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good
cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, [in] a
salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed [is] the man that trusteth in the
LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by
the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall
not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be
careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked:
who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even
to give every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of
his doings. 11 [As] the partridge sitteth [on eggs], and hatcheth [them]
not; [so] he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in
the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”
“12 A glorious high throne from the beginning [is] the place of our
sanctuary. 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be
ashamed, [and] they that depart from me shall be written in the earth,
because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. 14
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved:
for thou [art] my praise. 15 Behold, they say unto me, Where [is] the
word of the LORD? let it come now. 16 As for me, I have not hastened
from [being] a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful
day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was [right] before
thee. 17 Be not a terror unto me: thou [art] my hope in the day of evil.
18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be
confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon
them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.”
“19 Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the
children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the
which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 And say unto
them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah,
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: 21
Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the
sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither
carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do
ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck
stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. 24 And it
shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to
bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day,
but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; 25 Then shall there
enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the
throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their
princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this
city shall remain for ever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of
Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of
Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the
south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and
incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not
to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the
sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it
shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”
(Jeremiah 17:1-27 AV)