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13 ¶ Thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go and buy thee a linen girdle and put it upon thy loins, and thou shalt not put it in water.

And I bought the girdle according to the word of the LORD and put it on my loins.

And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,

Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise; go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

So I went and hid it in the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

And it came to pass after many days that the LORD said unto me, Arise; go to the Euphrates and take from there the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.

Then I went to the Euphrates and dug and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and, behold, the girdle was rotted, it was good for nothing.

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Thus hath the LORD said, After this manner I will cause the pride of Judah to rot and the great pride of Jerusalem.

10 This evil people that refuses to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart and went after other gods to serve them and to worship them shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

11 For as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so I have caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people and for fame, and for a praise, and for honour; but they did not hear.

12 ¶ Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, Every bottle shall be filled with wine; and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus hath the LORD said, Behold, I fill all the inhabitants of this land with drunkenness, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne and the priests and the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

14 And I will break them one against another, even the fathers with the sons together, saith the LORD; I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy to not destroy them.

15 Hear ye and give ear; do not be proud: for the LORD has spoken.

16 Give glory to the LORD your God before he causes darkness and before your feet stumble in mountains of darkness, and while ye look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death and makes it gross darkness.

17 But if ye will not hear this, my soul shall weep in secret because of your pride; and weeping bitterly, my eyes shall be undone in tears because the LORD’s flock was carried away captive.

18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down in the dust because the crown of your glory has come down off your heads.

19 The cities of the south were shut up, and no one could open them: Judah was carried away captive; all of it, it was completely carried away captive.

20 Lift up your eyes, and behold those that come from the north wind: where is the flock that was given thee, the cattle of thy beauty?

21 What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee? For thou hast taught them to be princes and as head over thee; shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail?

22 ¶ When thou shalt say in thine heart, Why do these things come upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered and thy heels made bare.

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Likewise ye also cannot do good, being taught to do evil.

24 Therefore I will scatter them as the stubble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

25 This shall be thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me said the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

26 Therefore I uncovered thy skirts before thy face, and thy shame was manifested.

27 I have seen thine adulteries and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom upon the hills; in the same field I saw thine abominations. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean at last? How long then shall it be?

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(A) “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[a](B) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(C)

Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(D) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(E) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(F) and go after other gods(G) to serve and worship them,(H) will be like this belt—completely useless!(I) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(J) and praise and honor.(K) But they have not listened.’(L)

Wineskins

12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(M) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(N) or mercy or compassion(O) to keep me from destroying(P) them.’”

Threat of Captivity

15 Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.(Q)
16 Give glory(R) to the Lord your God
    before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(S)
    on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
    but he will turn it to utter darkness
    and change it to deep gloom.(T)
17 If you do not listen,(U)
    I will weep in secret
    because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
    overflowing with tears,(V)
    because the Lord’s flock(W) will be taken captive.(X)

18 Say to the king(Y) and to the queen mother,(Z)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(AA)
    will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(AB) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

20 Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.(AC)
Where is the flock(AD) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?(AE)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?(AF)
22 And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”(AG)
it is because of your many sins(AH)
    that your skirts have been torn off(AI)
    and your body mistreated.(AJ)
23 Can an Ethiopian[b] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.(AK)

24 “I will scatter you like chaff(AL)
    driven by the desert wind.(AM)
25 This is your lot,
    the portion(AN) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(AO) me
    and trusted in false gods.(AP)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen(AQ)
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!(AR)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.(AS)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
  2. Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)