---
title: Jeremiah 17:10
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/jeremiah-17-10/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/jeremiah-17-10.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Jeremiah 17:10
testament: OT
section: Prophets
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Jeremiah 17:10

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, examining the innermost thoughts, to give to each one according to his ways, according to the fruitage of his works."

## JW Usage

Read straightforwardly as an attribute of Jehovah: only Jehovah can examine the heart and the innermost thoughts of every person. The Watchtower has no quarrel with this verse in itself — its difficulty surfaces only when the same heart-reading is attributed to Jesus.

## Protestant Usage

Jeremiah 17:10 is the matching key for Mark 2:8: "Jesus, knowing in his spirit that they were reasoning this way among themselves..." The scribes thought their objection privately; Jesus answered it as if he had heard it. Same chapter, same passage, Jesus also says he forgives sins — which the scribes correctly identify as a divine prerogative ("Who can forgive sins except one, God?" — Mark 2:7). Pair Jeremiah 17:10 with the gospel episodes where Jesus reads hearts (Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22; John 2:24-25) and the conclusion writes itself: the heart-reader of Jeremiah 17:10 has appeared in person, and the scribes did not have to revise their theology — they had to revise their list of who counts as Jehovah.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Jesus Shared Jehovah's Glory](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/john17-glory.md) — John 17:5 [Deity of Christ]
- [Jesus Forgives Sins — Only God Can Do That](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/jesus-forgives-sins.md) — Mark 2:5-12 [Deity of Christ]
- ["Nor the Son" — and "You Are Aware of All Things"](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/jesus-knowledge-mark-13-32.md) — Mark 13:32 / Revelation 1:1 / Revelation 14:14-16 — what the Son didn't know, and what he did [Deity of Christ]