Jeremiah 17:10

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.

I examine people’s hearts. 1 

I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.

I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

Jeremiah 17:23-24

17:23 Your ancestors, 2  however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused 3  to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 17:24 The Lord says, 4  ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day.

1 tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.

sn For an earlier reference to this motif see Jer 11:20. For a later reference see Jer 20:12. See also Ps 17:2-3.

2 tn Heb “They.” The antecedent is spelled out to avoid any possible confusion.

3 tn Heb “They hardened [or made stiff] their neck so as not to.”

4 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”