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Jeremiah 13:21-23
Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah 13:21-23
Contemporary English Version
21 You once trusted them to help,
but now I'll let them rule you.[a]
What do you say about that?
You will be in pain
like a woman giving birth.
22 Do you know why
your clothes were torn off
and you were abused?
It was because
of your terrible sins.
23 Can you ever change
and do what's right?
Can people change the color
of their skin,
or can a leopard
remove its spots?
If so, then maybe you can change
and learn to do right.
Footnotes
- 13.21 You once … rule you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Jeremiah 13:21-23
New International Version
Jeremiah 13:21-23
New International Version
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies?(A)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?(B)
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”(C)—
it is because of your many sins(D)
that your skirts have been torn off(E)
and your body mistreated.(F)
23 Can an Ethiopian[a] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.(G)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.