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They fade away thematically in the second grid

I try not to come onto the forum until I've solved the puzzle (or, more often, reached an impasse). I finally cracked this one today, 8 days after publication. I suspect no one will be checking the thread any more but it would be wrong not to add my praise to all the comments below. This is an astonishing masterpiece.

If anyone's still reading this---can you give tips on my last two: 17A and 10D (I've got the three crossing letters in each). Thanks!

17a- the second word is extra; 4-letter word for "study" surrounding plural "o"; def is the last 3 words.
10d - last word is extra; first word is def; 3-letter word for "secretive" surrounding a shortened 4-letter "salmon".

Thanks very much.
I've now got 17A I reckon, although neither the full word nor the `study' meaning of the 4-letter word appear in my extended Chambers.
As regards 10D, there are two obvious choices for secretive, but the shortened 4-letter salmon is eluding me at present. But I won't give up!

Seconds later I got 10D. All good now.
Again, many thanks!

17a - the 4-letter word for study appears right at the end of the noun entry for "study" (under the head word "student") and the full word is also there in my 11th edition of Chambers.
10d - I was unfamiliar with the 4-letter salmon but found it in Bradford's (under "salmon"). She also includes the 6-letter answer under "fish".

You are quite right to pick me up---after some poking around I did indeed find all the necessary words. I need more patience! New to Listener crosswords, but enjoying/enjoyed this one.

...And now I've worked through the endgame, I realise I could have given myself some help! Still, nice to see that it all worked out correctly. That really is quite some construction.
Thanks again.

The solution has HEAVEN and EARTH still shown, though highlighted. But Matt 24:35 clearly says Jesus states, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away," MY WORDS WILL NEVER PASS AWAY are highlighted in the solution, quite correctly, so why do HEAVEN and EARTH not pass away? Given that others here believe that they should stay, isn't there a strong case that the ambiguity is such that solutions with and without, the two words should be accepted?