Chapter 17

⁵ Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and will lean his arm of flesh upon him, while his heart departs from the Lord. ⁶ And he shall be as the wild tamarisk in the desert: he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in ¹barren places, and in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. ⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord shall be. ⁸ And he shall be as a thriving tree by the waters, and he shall cast forth his root toward a moist place: he shall not fear when heat comes, and there shall be upon him shady branches: he shall not fear in a year of drought, and he shall not fail to bear fruit.

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⁹ The heart is deep beyond all things, and Prov. 27. 19.it is the man, and who can know him? ¹⁰ Rev. 2. 23.I the Lord try the hearts, and prove the reins, to give to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his devices.

¹¹ The partridge utters her voice, she gathers eggs which she did not lay; so is a man gaining his wealth unjustly; in the midst of his days his riches shall leave him, and at his latter end he will be a fool.

¹² An exalted throne of glory is our sanctuary. ¹³ O Lord, the hope of Israel, let all that have left thee be ashamed, let them that have revolted be written on the earth, because they have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord.

¹⁴ Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my boast.

¹⁵ Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come. ¹⁶ But I have not been weary of following thee, nor have I desired the day of man; thou knowest; the words that proceed out of my lips are before thy face. ¹⁷ Be not to me a stranger, but spare me in the evil day. ¹⁸ Let them that persecute me bee ashamed, but let me not be ashamed: let them be alarmed, but let me not be alarmed: bring upon them the evil day, crush them with double destruction.

¹⁹ Thus saith the Lord; Go and stand in the gates of the children of thy people, by which the kings of Juda enter, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem: ²⁰ and thou shalt say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and all Judea, and all Jerusalem, all who go in at these gates: ²¹ thus saith the Lord; Take heed to your souls, and take up no burdens on the sabbath-day, and go not forth through the gates of Jerusalem; ²² and carry forth no burdens out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and ye shall do no work: sanctify the sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers. ²³ But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, but stiffened their neck more than their fathers did, so as not to hear me, and not to receive ²correction.

²⁴ And it shall come to pass, if ye will hearken to me, saith the Lord, to carry in no burdens through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, and to sanctify the sabbath-day, so as to do no work upon it, ²⁵ that there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, and riding on their chariots and horses, they, and their princes, the men of Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem: and this city shall be inhabited for ever. ²⁶ And men shall come out of the cities of Juda, and from round about Jerusalem, and out of the land of Benjamin, and out of the plain country, and from the hill country, and from the south country, bringing whole-burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and incense, and manna, and frankincense, bringing praise to the house of the Lord.

²⁷ But it shall come to pass, if ye will not

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hearken to me to sanctify the sabbath-day, to bear no burdens, nor go in with them by the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the streets of Jerusalem, and shall not be quenched.