“Thus says Yahweh.
‘Cursed are those
Who trust in mere mortals!
Cursed are those
Who make mere flesh
Their strength!
Cursed are those
Whose hearts turn away
From Yahweh!
They are
Like a shrub in the desert.
They shall not see
When relief comes.
They shall live
In the parched places
Of the wilderness.
They shall live
In an uninhabited salt land.’”
Jeremiah had Yahweh issue a curse, not a blessing. If they trusted in mere mortals, if they made their own flesh their strength, and if their hearts turned away from Yahweh, they would be cursed. They are like shrubs in a desert that do not know when help is coming to them. They will live in a wild parched land. They will live in uninhabitable salt lands. Their punishment would be a hard life with bad soil.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 