Jeremiah 17:5 (ASV)

Passage

Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:3 O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures for a spoil, [and] thy high places, because of sin, throughout all thy borders.

Jeremiah 17:4 And thou, even of thyself, shalt discontinue from thy heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger which shall burn for ever.

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah.

Jeremiah 17:6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "jehovah", "cursed", "trusteth", "maketh", "flesh", and "whose". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And thou even of thyself shalt discontinue..." into verse 6's "For he shall be like the heath...", so "thus" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.