Jeremiah 17:9 (DBY)

Passage

The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurable; who can know it?

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that confideth in Jehovah, and whose confidence Jehovah is.

Jeremiah 17:8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out its roots by the stream, and he shall not see when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and in the year of drought he shall not be careful, neither shall he cease to yield fruit.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurable; who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:10 I Jehovah search the heart, I try the reins, even to give each one according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:11 [As] the partridge sitteth on [eggs] it hath not laid, [so] is he that getteth riches and not by right: in the midst of his days shall he leave them, and at his end shall be a fool.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "heart", "deceitful", "above", and "incurable". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "For he shall be like a tree..." into verse 10's "I Jehovah search the heart I try...", so "all things" and "heart" 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 "all things" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.