CHAPTER 17
The sin of Judah is written with an iron pointel, in a nail of adamant; it is written on the breadth of the heart of them, and in the horns of the altars of them. (The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, with an adamant point; it is written on the breadth of their hearts, and on the corners of their altars.)
When the sons of them bethink on their altars, and [maumet] woods, and on the trees full of boughs, (While their sons and daughters worship at their altars, and in their sacred woods, by the trees full of branches, in the high mountains,)
making sacrifice in the field in high mountains, I shall give thy strength and all thy treasures into ravishing, thine high things for sins in all thine ends. (and make sacrifice in the fields, I shall give thy wealth and all thy treasures to robbing, or for spoils, and thy high places, or thy hill shrines, for more sins, in all thy terms, or in all thy land.)
And thou shalt be left alone from thine heritage which I gave to thee (or And thou shalt be taken away from thy inheritance which I gave thee); and I shall make thee to serve thine enemies, in the land which thou knowest not; for thou hast kindled (a) fire in my strong vengeance, it shall burn till into without end.
The Lord saith these things, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and setteth flesh his arm, and his heart goeth away from the Lord. (The Lord saith these things, Cursed is the person who trusteth in people, and maketh any flesh his source of power and security, and his heart goeth away from the Lord.)
For he shall be as brooms in desert, and he shall not see, when good shall come; but he shall dwell in dryness in desert, in the land of saltness, and unhabitable. (For he shall be like the heather in the wilderness, and he shall not see, when good shall come; but he shall live in the dryness of the desert, yea, in an uninhabitable and salty land.)
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord (or Happy is the person who trusteth in the Lord), and the Lord shall be his trust.
And he shall be as a tree, which is planted over waters, which sendeth his roots to moisture; and it shall not dread, when heat shall come; and the leaf thereof shall be green, and it shall not be moved in the time of dryness, neither any time it shall fail to make fruit. (And he shall be like a tree, which is planted by the waters, which sendeth out its roots to moisture; and it shall not have any fear, when the heat shall come; and its leaves shall be green, and it shall not be moved in the time of drought, nor at any time shall it fail to make fruit.)
The heart of man is shrewd, and unsearchable; who shall know it? (Each person’s heart is depraved, and unknowable; who can understand it?)
10 I am the Lord seeking the heart, and proving the reins, either kidneys, and I give to each man after his way, and after the fruit of his findings. (I am the Lord searching the minds, and proving the hearts, and I give to each person after his own ways, and after the fruit of his own deeds.)
11 (As) A partridge nourished those things which she breeded not; (so) he made riches, and not in doom, (or Like a partridge nourished those young which she did not bring forth, so he made riches, but not justly); in the midst of his days he shall forsake them, and in his last time he shall be unwise.
12 The seat of glory of highness was at the beginning the place of our hallowing, the abiding of Israel. (The throne of glory, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary, the abiding of Israel.)
13 Lord, all they that forsake thee, shall be shamed; they that go away from thee, shall be written in [the] earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, a vein of quick waters. (Lord, all they who desert thee, shall be ashamed; they who go away from thee, shall vanish like words written in the sand, for they have deserted the Lord, the vein, or the spring, of living waters.)
14 Lord, heal me, and I shall be healed; make thou me safe, and I shall be safe, (or save thou me or rescue thou me, and I shall be saved); for thou art my praising.
15 Lo! they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? come it.
16 And I am not troubled, following thee shepherd, and I desired not the day of man, thou knowest. That that went out of my lips was rightful in thy sight.
17 Be thou not to dread to me; thou art mine hope in the day of torment. (Be thou not a terror to me, that is, something to fear; thou art my hope on the day of torment.)
18 Be they shamed, that pursue me, and be I not shamed; dread they, and dread not I; bring in on them a day of torment, and defoul thou them by double defouling. (Be they shamed, who pursue me, and let me not be shamed; let them fear, and let me not be afraid; bring in upon them a day of torment, and defile thou them with double defiling.)
19 The Lord saith these things to me, Go thou, and stand in the gate of the sons of the people, by which the kings of Judah enter [in], and go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.
20 And thou shall say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the dwellers of Jerusalem, that enter [in] by these gates. (And thou shall say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter in by these gates.)
21 The Lord God saith these things, Keep ye your souls, and do not ye bear burdens in the day of sabbath (or and do not ye carry any burdens on the day of Sabbath), neither bring (them) in by the gates of Jerusalem.
22 And do not ye cast burdens out of your houses in the day of sabbath (or And do not ye carry any burdens out of your houses on the day of Sabbath), and ye shall not do any work; hallow ye the day of sabbath, as I commanded to your fathers.
23 And they heard not, neither bowed down their ear, but they made hard their noll, that they should not hear me, and that they should not take chastising. (But they did not listen, nor bowed down their ear, but they stiffened their necks, or were stubborn, so that they would not listen to me, so that they could receive my discipline, or my correction.)
24 And it shall be, if ye hear me, saith the Lord, that ye bear not in burdens by the gates of this city in the day of sabbath, and if ye hallow the day of sabbath, that ye do not work therein, (And it shall be, if ye listen to, or obey, me, saith the Lord, so that ye do not carry in burdens by the gates of this city on the day of Sabbath, and if ye hallow the day of Sabbath, so that ye do no work on it,)
25 kings and princes sitting on the seat of David shall enter [in] by the gates of this city, and ascending in chariots and horses; they, and the princes of them, the men of Judah, and the dwellers of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited without end. (then kings and princes sitting on the throne of David shall enter in by the gates of this city, and shall come in chariots and on horses; they, and their princes, and the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited forever.)
26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the compass of Jerusalem (or and from all around Jerusalem), and from the land of Benjamin, and from [the] field places, and from [the] hilly places, and from the south, bearing burnt sacrifice, and slain sacrifice, and incense; and they shall bring offering(s) into the house of the Lord.
27 Forsooth if ye hear not me, that ye hallow the day of sabbath, and that ye bear not a burden, and that ye bring not in by the gates of Jerusalem in the day of sabbath, I shall kindle fire in the gates thereof; and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. (But if ye do not listen to me, so that ye hallow the day of Sabbath, and so that ye do not carry a burden, and so that ye do not bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem on the day of Sabbath, then I shall kindle a fire in its gates; and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.)