Jeremiah 17:5–10

Context

This passage is a message the prophet Jeremiah delivered to the people of Judah. The opening of Jeremiah 17 (verses 1–4) charges that Judah's sin is engraved upon the table of their heart. The following verses, 5–8, form a short poem that compares the one who trusts in man to "the heath in the desert" and the one who trusts in the LORD to "a tree planted by the waters." Verses 9–10 declare that the human heart is deceitful and cannot be known even by the person himself, but that the LORD searches its depths and gives to every man according to his ways. The passage is often read as a word from the period before Judah fell to Babylon, when the nation relied on alliances with great powers such as Egypt.

Interpretation

• Wisdom-literature reading: Scholars widely note that the passage's structure, in which two paths diverge according to the object of one's trust, resembles the "tree planted by the rivers of water" in Psalm 1. On the basis of this form, some critical scholars regard verses 5–8 as a later editorial addition, while conservative scholars regard them as Jeremiah's own words.
• Historical reading: The Hebrew word rendered "flesh" in verse 5 literally denotes the body and here signifies human strength. This reading holds that verse 5 is aimed at the leaders of Judah, who relied on military and political alliances instead of on God.
• Reformed reading: Presbyterian and other Calvinist traditions cite verse 9 as one of the proof texts for "total depravity," the doctrine that the whole of human nature lies under the effects of the Fall, so that people cannot turn to God by their own power.
• Wesleyan reading: Methodist, Holiness, and other traditions of Wesleyan theology likewise affirm the human corruption described in verse 9. They emphasize, however, both the prevenient grace that God extends before any human decision and the possibility of sanctification, in which the heart is made new.

Debates and Issues

• The meaning of "heart": The Hebrew lev (heart) denotes not only the emotions but also the center of thought and will. The word rendered "reins" in verse 10 literally means "kidneys" and is an idiomatic expression for a person's innermost being.
• Translation: The Hebrew anush, rendered "desperately wicked" in verse 9, is closer in meaning to "incurably sick." For this reason, some English translations and scholars render the verse as a metaphor of disease.
• Manuscripts: The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, is known to lack Jeremiah 17:1–4. The context preceding verse 5 therefore differs depending on the textual tradition.
• Recompense according to works: A question arises as to how verse 10, "to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings," fits with the doctrine of justification by faith. Protestant denominations generally regard works not as a condition of salvation but as the fruit of faith, and explain that this fruit will be revealed at the Last Judgment.
• Quotation out of context: Some sermons use verse 5 as a piece of worldly wisdom meaning "Do not trust people," or read "yielding fruit" in verse 8 as a promise of material prosperity. In response, others have pointed out that the text warns against forsaking God and making human strength one's ultimate source of security, and that it speaks of a life that endures even in drought. The reading of verse 8 as a promise of prosperity is also tied to the debate surrounding prosperity theology.

In the Korean Church

Verse 9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," is frequently quoted in sermons on sin and repentance. Verses 7–8 are used, together with Psalm 1, as a text on the roots and fruit of faith.

Related Passages

• Psalm 1:3
• Psalm 146:3–5
• Mark 7:21–23
• Ezekiel 36:25–27
• Revelation 2:23