Jeremiah 17:9 (DRB)

Passage

The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence.

Jeremiah 17:8 And he shall be as a tree that is planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots towards moisture: and it shall not fear when the heat cometh. And the leaf thereof shall be green, and in the time of drought it shall not be solicitous, neither shall it cease at any time to bring forth fruit.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:10 I am the Lord who search the heart, and prove the reins: who give to every one according to his way, and according to the fruit of his devices.

Jeremiah 17:11 As the partridge hath hatched eggs which she did not lay: so is he that hath gathered riches, and not by right: in the midst of his days he shall leave them, and in his latter end he shall be a fool.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "heart", "perverse", "above", and "unsearchable". 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 "And he shall be as a tree..." into verse 10's "I am the Lord who search the...", 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.