HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1052
J EREMIA H 1 7
16 “But now I am sending for many fishermen
who will catch them,” says the Lord. “I am
sending for hunters who will hunt them down
in the mountains, hills, and caves. 17 I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. 18 I will double their
punishment for all their sins, because they have
defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with
their evil deeds.”
— promises —
from God
“I, the Lord,
search all hearts and
examine secret motives.”
page 682
Wisdom from the LORD
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust
in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from
the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
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J E R E M I A H 17:1 0
Jeremiah’s Prayer of Confidence
19 Lord, you are my strength and fortress,
my refuge in the day of trouble!
Nations from around the world
will come to you and say,
“Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,
for they worshiped worthless idols.
20 Can people make their own gods?
These are not real gods at all!”
21
The Lord says,
“Now I will show them my power;
now I will show them my might.
At last they will know and understand
that I am the Lord.
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
1 “The sin of Judah
is inscribed with an iron chisel—
engraved with a diamond point on their
stony hearts
and on the corners of their altars.
2 Even their children go to worship
at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
and on every high hill.
3 So I will hand over my holy mountain—
along with all your wealth and
treasures
and your pagan shrines—
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
4 The wonderful possession I have
reserved for you
will slip from your hands.
I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.”
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“But blessed are those who trust in
the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope
and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a
riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
“The human heart is the most deceitful
of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah’s Trust in the LORD
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs she
has not laid,
so are those who get their wealth by
unjust means.
At midlife they will lose their riches;
in the end, they will become poor
old fools.
12 But we worship at your throne—
eternal, high, and glorious!
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who turn away from you will be
disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the Lord,
the fountain of living water.
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O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly
healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!
People scoff at me and say,
“What is this ‘message from the Lord’
you talk about?
Why don’t your predictions come true?”
Lord, I have not abandoned my job
as a shepherd for your people.
I have not urged you to send disaster.
You have heard everything I’ve said.