Jeremiah 17:21 (DRB)

Passage

Thus saith the Lord: Take heed to your souls, and carry no burdens on the sabbath day: and bring them not in by the gates of Jerusalem.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:19 Thus saith the Lord to me: Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Juda come in, and go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem:

Jeremiah 17:20 And thou shalt say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and al Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates.

Jeremiah 17:21 Thus saith the Lord: Take heed to your souls, and carry no burdens on the sabbath day: and bring them not in by the gates of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 17:22 And do not bring burdens out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work: sanctify the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

Jeremiah 17:23 But they did not hear, nor incline their ear: but hardened their neck, that they might not hear me, and might not receive instruction.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "lord", "take", "heed", "souls", "carry", and "burdens". 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 20's "And thou shalt say to them Hear..." into verse 22's "And do not bring burdens out of...", 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.