Jeremiah

8 JEREMIAH 17:8
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 “ Nothing can hide its evil as well as the
human mind.
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
that they were fools.”
12 From the very beginning, our Temple*
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. a
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
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 b 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.
a 17:13 will have a very short life Literally, “he will
be written in the dirt.” This might mean that a
person’s name was written on a list of people who
would soon die, or that a person’s life will soon be
gone—like a name written in the sand.
b 17:16 shepherd God’s people are sometimes
called his “sheep,” and the person who takes care of
them is called the “shepherd.”
616
18 People are hurting me.
Make them ashamed,
but don’t disappoint me.
Let them be filled with fear,
but don’t give me any reason to fear.
Bring the terrible day of disaster to my
enemies.
Break them, and break them again.
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19This is what the Lord said to me: “Jeremiah,
go and stand at the People’s Gate, c
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.”
20Say to the people, “Listen to this message
from the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah.
Listen, all you people of Judah. All you who
come through these gates into Jerusalem, listen
to me! 21This is what the Lord says: ‘Be
careful that you don’t carry a load on the Sabbath*
day. And don’t bring a load through the
gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22Don’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,* 23but 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. 24But you must 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* and on horses. And Jerusalem
will have people living in it forever.
26People will come to Jerusalem from the
towns and villages of Judah, from the land
where the tribe of Benjamin lives, d from the
western foothills, from the hill country, and
from the Negev.* All these people will bring
burnt offerings,* sacrifices, grain offerings,
incense,* and thank offerings to the Temple*
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 as 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.’”
c 17:19 People’s Gate This might be one of the gates
into Jerusalem or perhaps one of the southern
gates into the Temple area used by those who were
not priests.
d 17:26 the land where … Benjamin lives The land of
Benjamin was just north of the land of Judah.