Jeremiah 17:5-13

God blesses those who trust in him

5 The Lord says,

‘I will curse those who only trust people to help them.

They think that human strength will save them,

and they turn away from me, the Lord.

6 They will be like a bush that grows in the desert.

It grows in a place where nobody can live.

The ground is very dry and is spoiled by salt.

Even when good times come,

those people will not receive any good thing.

7 The Lord blesses people who trust in him.

They know that the Lord will help them.

8 They will be like trees that grow beside a river.

Their roots reach into the water.

When the sun is hot, they are not afraid.

Their leaves continue to be green.

They give fruit each year,

even when there is no rain.

9 A person's own mind deceives him,

more than anything else does.

Nobody can change it to be better.

Nobody completely understands it.

10 But I, the Lord, look inside a person's mind.

I see what he thinks and what he feels.

I see how everyone lives,

and I see the things that they do.

I give to each one what he deserves.

11 Someone may get rich because he cheats other people.

He is like a bird that sits on eggs

that it has taken from another nest.

He will lose his riches before he is old.

At the end of his life, he will die as a fool.’

Jeremiah prays that God would help him

12 Lord, your beautiful throne is high above.

You have ruled there from the beginning.

That is where we worship you.

13 You are the one that the Israelites hope in.

Everyone who turns away from you will be ashamed.

They will disappear,

as if their names are written in the dust.

Lord, you give life to your people,

like a spring of fresh water.

But they have turned against you.