1 The sin of Judah {ye-hu-dah: Southern Kingdom} is written with an iron {barzel: symbol of permanence} pen and with a diamond point; it is engraved on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of your altars.
2 While their children remember their altars {mizbechotam: sacrificial altars} and their Asherim, beside every green tree {raanan: lush growth} on the high hills.
3 My mountain {harari: symbol of divine dwelling} in the field, your wealth and all your treasures I {YHWH, Divine Judge} will give for spoil along with your high places for sin throughout all your territory.
4 And you shall let go of your inheritance which I {YHWH, Sovereign Giver} gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land you did not know because you kindled a fire in my anger {api: fierce fury}, and it shall burn forever.
5 Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Judge}: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm {zeroa'o: symbol of strength}, and whose heart turns away from the LORD.”
6 And he will be like a shrub {keʿarar: bush with little water} in the desert, and he will not see when good comes; and he will dwell in parched places {kharerim: utterly dry ground} in the wilderness, a land of salt that is not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD {YHWH, Trustworthy Refuge}, and whose confidence {mivtach: secure confidence} rests in the LORD.
8 And he will be like a tree planted beside waters, sending out his roots toward the stream. He will not fear {yir’eh: feel dread} when heat comes, and his leaf will remain fresh. In the year of drought he will not worry {yida’ag: become distressed}, and he will not cease from producing fruit.
9 The heart {lev: inner person} is deceitful above all things and incurably sick; who can know it {yedaennu: fully comprehend}?
10 I, the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Examiner}, search the heart and examine the innermost being {kelayot: seat of thoughts}, to give to each person according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
11 Like a partridge {kore: futile nester} that broods but does not hatch, so is one who amasses riches without justice {mishpat: legal fairness}; in the middle of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.
12 A throne of glory {kavod: weighty honor} set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary {mikdasheinu: sacred dwelling}.
13 Hope of Israel, the LORD {YHWH, Source of Hope}; all who forsake You will be put to shame, and those who turn away from Me will be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters {mekor mayim-chayyim: ceaseless provision}.
14 Heal me, LORD {YHWH, Restorer}, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved; for You are my praise {tehilla: song of exaltation}.
15 Behold, they are saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD {YHWH, Faithful Messenger}? Let it come now {na: urgent plea}!”
16 But as for me, I did not hasten away from shepherding to follow You {YHWH, Omniscient Judge}, and I did not desire the woeful day; You know it—whatever issued from my lips was before Your face {panekha: presence}.
17 Do not be a terror to me; You {YHWH, Refuge Provider} are my refuge in the day of calamity {ra'ah: distress or disaster}.
18 Let my pursuers be put to shame, but let me not be put to shame {boshet: disgrace}. Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed {chitat: terrified}. Bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
19 Thus the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Messenger} said to me, “Go and stand in the gate {shaʿar: city entrance} of the children of the people, the one by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 And you shall say to them, “Hear the word {devar: authoritative proclamation} of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Proclaimer}, O kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates.”
21 Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Instructor}: "Guard yourselves diligently for the sake of your lives, and do not carry any burden on the Sabbath day {hashabbat: sacred rest}, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem."
22 And you shall not bring out any burden from your houses on the Sabbath {hashabbat: seventh-day rest} day, and you shall not do any work, but you shall sanctify {kiddashtem: set apart as holy} the Sabbath day as I commanded your fathers.
23 But they did not listen or incline their ear; rather, they stiffened their neck {oref: stubbornness}, so as not to hear or receive instruction {musar: moral discipline}.
24 And it will be, if you will surely listen to Me, declares the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Authority}, that you bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and that you consecrate the Sabbath day {shabbat: sacred rest} by refraining from all work within it.
25 Kings and princes shall enter through the gates of this city, sitting upon the throne of David {david: royal dynasty}, riding in chariots {rekhev: ancient war vehicle} and on horses—along with their officials, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited forever.
26 And they will come from the cities of Judah, and from the regions around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings {todah: public thanksgiving} to the house of the LORD {YHWH, Worship Recipient}.
27 But if you do not listen to Me {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} to sanctify the Sabbath {shabbat: consecrated rest} day and do not carry a burden or enter through the gates of Jerusalem on that day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be quenched.