Jeremiah 13

1 This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.”

Thus says the Lord to me: “Go, and obtain for yourself a linen waistcloth. And you shall place it over your loins, and you shall not put it into water.”

2 So I bought a loincloth as the LORD had instructed me, and I put it around my waist.

And so I obtained a waistcloth, according to the word of the Lord, and I placed it around my loins.

3 Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time:

And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying:

4 “Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to Perath and hide it there in a crevice of the rocks.”

“Take the waistcloth, which you obtained, which is around your loins, and, rising up, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in an opening of the rock.”

5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD had commanded me.

And so I went, and I hid it by the Euphrates, just as the Lord had instructed me.

6 Many days later the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to Perath, and get the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.”

And it happened that, after many days, the Lord said to me: “Rise up, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the waistcloth, which I instructed you to hide there.”

7 So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth, and I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined—of no use at all.

And so I went to the Euphrates, and I dug up and took the waistcloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the waistcloth had rotted, so that it was not fit for any use.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

9 “This is what the LORD says: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.

“Thus says the Lord: In the same way, I will cause the arrogance of Judah and the arrogance of Jerusalem to rot.

10 These evil people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who go after other gods to serve and worship them, they will be like this loincloth—of no use at all.

This most wicked people, they are not willing to listen to my words, for they walk in the depravity of their own heart, and they have gone after strange gods, so as to serve them and to adore them. And so, they will become like this waistcloth, which is not fit for any use.

11 For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen.

For just as the waistcloth clings to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me the entire house of Israel and the entire house of Judah, says the Lord, so that they would be to me: a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory. But they did not listen.

12 Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’

Therefore, you shall speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Every bottle will be filled with wine.’ And they will say to you: ‘Are we ignorant that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

13 then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem.

And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings from the stock of David who sit upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, unto inebriation.

14 I will smash them against one another, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no mercy or pity or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.’”

And I will scatter them, a man from his brother, and fathers and sons similarly, says the Lord. I will not spare them, and I will not pardon them, and I will not take pity, so as not to destroy them.”

15 Listen and give heed. Do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken.

Hear and pay close attention. Do not choose to lift yourself up, for the Lord has spoken.

16 Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.

Give glory to the Lord your God, before darkness falls, and before your feet stumble on the darkened mountains. You will expect light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death and into utter darkness.

17 But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

But if you will not listen to this, then my soul will weep in secret before the face of your pride. It will weep bitterly, and my eyes will flow with tears, because the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.

18 Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”

“Say to the king and to the female ruler: Humble yourselves, sit down. For the crown of your glory has gone down from your head.

19 The cities of the Negev have been shut tight, and no one can open them. All Judah has been carried into exile, wholly taken captive.

The cities of the south have been closed, and there is no one who may open them. All of Judah has been taken away into complete captivity.

20 Lift up your eyes and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, the sheep that were your pride?

Lift up your eyes and see, you who are arriving from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your famous cattle?

21 What will you say when He sets over you close allies whom you yourself trained? Will not pangs of anguish grip you, as they do a woman in labor?

What will you say when he visits upon you? For you have taught them against you, and you have instructed them with your own head. Will not pains take hold of you, as with a woman in labor?

22 And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.

But if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ it is because of the greatness of your iniquity that your shame has been uncovered and the soles of your feet have been defiled.

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good— you who are accustomed to doing evil.

If the Ethiopian is able to change his skin, or the leopard is able to change his spots, then you also may be able to do well, though you have learned evil.

24 “I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind.

And I will scatter them like chaff, which is carried away by the wind in the desert.

25 This is your lot, the portion I have measured to you,” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.

This is your lot, and this is the portion of your measure from me, says the Lord, because you have forgotten me, and you have had confidence in what is false.

26 So I will pull your skirts up over your face, that your shame may be seen.

Therefore, I have even bared your thighs before your face, and your shame has been seen.

27 Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields— I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”

For I have seen your adulteries, and your neighing for the wickedness of your fornication, and your abominations upon the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem! How much longer before you will be made clean after me?”