Jeremiah 17:10 (KJV)

Passage

I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

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

Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

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

Jeremiah 17:12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "search", "heart", "reins", "even", "give", "ways", and "fruit". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "search", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "The heart is deceitful above all things..." into verse 11's "As the partridge sitteth on eggs and...", so "lord" and "search" 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 "lord" and "search" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.