Jeremiah 17:9
New International Version
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

New Living Translation
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

English Standard Version
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Berean Standard Bible
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

King James Bible
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

New King James Version
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

New American Standard Bible
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

NASB 1995
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

NASB 1977
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Legacy Standard Bible
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it?

Amplified Bible
“The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?

Christian Standard Bible
The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

American Standard Version
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

Contemporary English Version
You people of Judah are so deceitful that you even fool yourselves, and you can't change.

English Revised Version
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is desperately sick: who can know it?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is.

Good News Translation
"Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed.

International Standard Version
"The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable— who can know it?

Majority Standard Bible
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

NET Bible
The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?

New Heart English Bible
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

Webster's Bible Translation
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

World English Bible
The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
The heart [is] deceitful above all things, "" And it [is] incurable—who knows it?

Young's Literal Translation
Crooked is the heart above all things, And it is incurable -- who doth know it?

Smith's Literal Translation
The heart is deceitful above all, and man himself, who shall know him?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?

Catholic Public Domain Version
The heart is depraved above all things, and it is unsearchable, who can know it?

New American Bible
More tortuous than anything is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?

New Revised Standard Version
The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The heart is stubborn above all things; who can understand it?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The heart of every man is hard. Who knows it?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The heart is deceitful above all things, And it is exceeding weak--who can know it?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man, and who can know him?
Audio Bible



Context
The Sin and Punishment of Judah
8He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit. 9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.…

Cross References
Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

Mark 7:21-23
For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, / greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. / All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

Romans 3:10-12
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. / There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. / All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Proverbs 28:26
He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

Romans 7:18
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

Psalm 51:5
Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Ecclesiastes 9:3
This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

Romans 8:7
because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

James 1:14-15
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. / Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Isaiah 1:5-6
Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. / From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.

1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

Psalm 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.


Treasury of Scripture

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 16:12
And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

Genesis 6:5
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 8:21
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Jump to Previous
Able Corrupt Crooked Cure Deceitful Desperately Exceeding Exceedingly Heart Incurable Searched Sick Twisted Understand Weak Wicked
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Able Corrupt Crooked Cure Deceitful Desperately Exceeding Exceedingly Heart Incurable Searched Sick Twisted Understand Weak Wicked
Jeremiah 17
1. The captivity of Judah for her sin.
5. Trust in man is cursed;
7. in God is blessed.
9. The deceitful heart cannot deceive God.
12. The salvation of God.
15. The prophet complains of the mockers of his prophecy.
19. He is sent to renew the covenant in hallowing the Sabbath.














The heart
In the Hebrew text, the word for "heart" is "leb," which refers not only to the physical organ but also to the center of human emotion, thought, and will. In ancient Hebrew culture, the heart was considered the seat of one's inner life, encompassing mind, emotions, and moral character. This understanding aligns with the broader biblical narrative that emphasizes the heart as the core of one's spiritual state and relationship with God. The heart is where decisions are made, and it reflects one's true self. In a conservative Christian perspective, the heart is seen as the battleground for spiritual warfare, where one must guard against sin and seek purity through Christ.

is deceitful
The Hebrew word "aqob" is used here, meaning "deceitful" or "crooked." This term suggests a sense of treachery and untrustworthiness. The heart's deceitfulness is a recurring theme in Scripture, highlighting humanity's fallen nature and propensity to sin. From a conservative Christian viewpoint, this deceitfulness is a result of the original sin that tainted human nature. It serves as a reminder of the need for divine intervention and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to renew and purify the heart.

above all things
This phrase emphasizes the extent and severity of the heart's deceitfulness. In the Hebrew text, "mi-kol" means "above all" or "more than anything." It underscores the idea that the heart's capacity for deceit surpasses all other forms of corruption. This hyperbolic expression serves to warn believers of the pervasive and insidious nature of sin within. From a conservative Christian perspective, it calls for vigilance and reliance on God's wisdom rather than one's own understanding.

and beyond cure
The Hebrew word "anash" is translated as "beyond cure" or "incurable." This term conveys a sense of hopelessness in human efforts to rectify the heart's condition. It points to the futility of attempting to achieve righteousness through one's own strength or works. In a conservative Christian context, this phrase highlights the necessity of divine grace and redemption through Jesus Christ, who alone can heal and transform the sinful heart.

Who can understand it?
This rhetorical question emphasizes the inscrutability and complexity of the human heart. The Hebrew word "yada" means "to know" or "to understand," suggesting that the true nature of the heart is beyond human comprehension. This acknowledgment of human limitation serves as a call to humility and dependence on God, who alone fully understands the heart. From a conservative Christian perspective, it reinforces the belief that only God can provide the discernment and wisdom needed to navigate the complexities of the human condition.

(9) The heart is deceitful . . .--The sequence of ideas seems as follows: If the blessing and the curse are thus so plainly marked, how is it that man chooses the curse and not the blessing, the portion of the "heath in the desert" rather than that of the "tree planted by the waters"? And the answer is found in the inscrutable self-deceit of his nature blinding his perceptions of good and evil.

Desperately wicked.--Rather, incurably diseased, as in Jeremiah 15:18; Jeremiah 30:12; Jeremiah 30:15; Isaiah 17:11, and elsewhere. Wickedness is, of course, implied, but it is regarded rather as a moral taint following on the deliberate choice, than as the choice itself.

Verses 9, 10. - The crocked devices of the human heart, which is characterized as deceitful above all things (or, as Delitzsch, ' Biblical Psychology,' English translation, p. 340, "proud;" literally, uneven or rugged; comp. Isaiah 40:4; Habakkuk 2:4, Hebrew; Psalm 131:2, Hebrew), and desperately wicked, or rather, desperately sick (see Jeremiah 15:18, where it is explained by the words, "which refuseth to be healed"). The Septuagint reads this verse differently, "The heart is deep above all things, and it is a man."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The heart
הַלֵּ֛ב (hal·lêḇ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

[is] deceitful
עָקֹ֥ב (‘ā·qōḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6121: Insidious, deceitful, tracked by footprints

above all things
מִכֹּ֖ל (mik·kōl)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

and beyond cure—
וְאָנֻ֣שׁ (wə·’ā·nuš)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 605: To be frail, feeble, melancholy

who
מִ֖י (mî)
Interrogative
Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix

can understand it?
יֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃ (yê·ḏā·‘en·nū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things (Jer.)
Jeremiah 17:8
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