Jeremiah 17:9

Context

Jeremiah 17 opens by stating that the sin of Judah is "written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond" upon the table of their heart (v. 1). Verses 5–8 draw a contrast: the one who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm is cursed and is like the heath in the desert, while the one who trusts in the LORD is like a tree planted by the waters. Following that contrast, verse 9 laments how untrustworthy the human heart is, and verse 10 answers, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins," to give every man according to his ways.

Interpretation

• "Deceitful" and "desperately wicked": The Hebrew word aqov, rendered "deceitful," means "crooked" or "deceptive" and is generally said to share a root with the name Jacob. The expression rendered "desperately wicked" is closer to "incurably sick." The verse is read to mean that the human heart is so crooked that it deceives even itself and cannot be healed by human effort.
• As a statement on the limits of self-knowledge: "Who can know it?" is understood as a confession that people cannot fully know even their own hearts and must therefore entrust themselves to God, who knows the heart (v. 10). It is read together with Psalm 139:23–24.
• In connection with the promise of a new heart: Linking the verse with Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26, where God promises to give a new heart, this reading sees the lament as the backdrop to that promise.

Debates and Issues

The Reformed (Presbyterian) tradition cites this verse in support of "total depravity," the teaching that the whole of human nature is tainted by sin, so that people cannot turn to God on their own (see Calvinism). The Wesleyan tradition (Methodist and Holiness churches) also holds that human nature is deeply corrupted, but emphasizes that the ability to respond to God is restored through the prevenient grace that God gives to all people. The Catholic Church teaches that human nature was wounded by original sin but not wholly corrupted. Some also caution against stretching the verse to mean that one should unconditionally distrust one's own feelings and intuitions, noting that the context specifically warns against relying on human beings rather than on God.

Related Passages

• Jeremiah 17:5–10
• Jeremiah 31:33
• Mark 7:21–23
• Romans 3:10–12