God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 17:9
9“The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is.
Jeremiah 17:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
- New International Version (NIV)The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- English Standard Version (ESV)The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Context of Jeremiah 17:9
7Blessed is the person who trusts the Lord. The Lord will be his confidence. 8He will be like a tree that is planted by water. It will send its roots down to a stream. It will not be afraid in the heat of summer. Its leaves will turn green. It will not be anxious during droughts. It will not stop producing fruit. “The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is. 10I, the Lord, search minds and test hearts. I will reward each person for what he has done. I will reward him for the results of his actions. 11A person who gets rich dishonestly is like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay. During his lifetime, he will lose his wealth. In the end, he will be a godless fool.”
Read all of Jeremiah 17Jeremiah 17:9 word by word
עָקֹ֥ב הַלֵּ֛ב מִכֹּ֖ל וְאָנֻ֣שׁ ה֑וּא מִ֖י יֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 17:9
- Jeremiah 16:12You have done worse than your ancestors. All of you are following your own stubborn, evil ways that keep you from obeying me.
- Genesis 6:5The Lord saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil.
- Genesis 8:21The Lord smelled the soothing aroma. He said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of humans, even though from birth their hearts are set on nothing but evil. I will never again kill every living creature as I have just done.
- Job 15:14Why should a mortal be considered faultless or someone born of a woman be considered righteous?
- Psalms 51:5Indeed, I was born guilty. I was a sinner when my mother conceived me.
- Psalms 53:1Godless fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. There is no one who does good things.
- Proverbs 28:26Whoever trusts his own heart is a fool. Whoever walks in wisdom will survive.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3This is the tragedy of everything that happens under the sun: Everyone shares the same destiny. Moreover, the hearts of mortals are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they are still alive. After that, they join the dead.
- Matthew 15:19Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, ⌞other⌟ sexual sins, stealing, lying, and cursing come from within.
- Mark 7:21Evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder,
- Hebrews 3:12Be careful, brothers and sisters, that none of you ever develop a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
- James 1:14Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 17:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The heart is deceitful - הלב עקב akob halleb, "the heart is supplanting - tortuous - full of windings - insidious;" lying ever at the catch; striving to avail itself of every favorable circumstance to gratify its propensities to pride, ambition, evil desire, and corruption of all kinds. And desperately wicked - הוא ואנש veanush hu, and is wretched, or feeble; distressed beyond all things, in consequence of the wickedness that is in it. I am quite of Mr…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5-18Verses 5-18 In the rest of the prophecy Jeremiah dwells upon the moral faults which had led to Judah‘s ruin. Jeremiah 17:6 Like the heath - Or, “like a destitute man” Psalm 102:17. The verbs “he shall see” (or fear) and “shall inhabit” plainly show that a man is here meant and not a plant. Jeremiah 17:8 The river - Or, “water-course” Isaiah 30:25, made for purposes of irrigation. Shall not see - Or, “shall not fear Jeremiah 17:6.” God‘s people feel…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-11Verses 5-11 He who puts confidence in man, shall be like the heath in a desert, a naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do without Christ, make flesh their arm, and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts. Those who make God their Hope, shall flourish like a tree always green, whose leaf does not wither. They shall be fixed in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10By nature, the human heart can be deceitful and very wicked. Only the Lord truly understands its depth.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. deceitful--from a root, "supplanting," "tripping up insidiously by the heel," from which Jacob (Ho 12:3) took his name. In speaking of the Jews' deceit of heart, he appropriately uses a term alluding to their forefather, whose deceit, but not whose faith, they followed. His "supplanting" was in order to obtain Jehovah's blessing. They plant Jehovah for "trust in man" (Jr 17:5), and then think to deceive God, as if it could escape His notice, that it is…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 17:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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