Jeremiah 13

1 This is what the Lord told me to do: Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it on, but don't wash it.

Thus said the LORD unto me: 'Go, and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.'

2 So I went and bought a loincloth as the Lord had instructed me, and I put it on.

So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it upon my loins.

3 Then the Lord gave me another message:

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

4 Take the loincloth that you bought and put on, and go immediately to the River Perath and hide it there in a hole among the rocks.

'Take the girdle that thou hast gotten, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Perath, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.'

5 So I went and hid it at the River Perath, as the Lord had told me.

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

6 A long time later the Lord told me, Go to Perath, and get the loincloth that I ordered you to hide there.

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

7 I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth, and removed it from where I'd hidden it. Obviously it was ruined—completely useless.

Then I went to Perath, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

8 Then a message from the Lord came to me:

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

9 This is what the Lord says: I will ruin the arrogance of Judah and the great arrogance of Jerusalem in exactly the same way.

Thus saith the LORD: After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem,

10 These evil people refuse to listen to what I tell them. They follow their own stubborn and evil thinking and run off to worship other gods—they will be like this loincloth, completely useless.

even this evil people, that refuse to hear My words, that walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, that it be as this girdle, which is profitable for nothing.

11 In the same way that a loincloth holds tightly to the body, so I made all the people of Israel and Judah hold tightly to me, declares the Lord. Then they could have been my people, representing me, giving me honor and praise. But they refused to listen.

For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I 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 a name, and for a praise, and for a glory; but they would not hearken.

12 So tell them this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wine jar shall be filled with wine. When they reply, “Don't we know that already? Of course every wine jar should be filled with wine!”

Moreover thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Every bottle is filled with wine'; and when they shall say unto thee: 'Do we not know that every bottle is filled with wine?'

13 then tell them that this is what the Lord says: I'm going to make everyone who lives in this land drunk—the kings sitting on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem.

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

14 I'm going to smash them against each other like wine jars, both parents and children, declares the Lord. I won't let any mercy or pity or compassion stop me from destroying them.

And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them.

15 Listen and pay attention. Don't be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.

Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud; for the LORD hath spoken.

16 Honor the Lord your God before he brings the darkness, before you trip and fall in the twilight on the mountains. You long for light to come, but he send only gloom and complete darkness.

Give glory to the LORD your God, before it grow dark, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

17 But if you refuse to listen, I will weep secretly inside because of your pride. My tears pouring down because the Lord's flock has been captured.

But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and mine eyes shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

18 Tell the king and the queen mother: Get down from your thrones, because your splendid crowns have fallen from your heads.

Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother: 'Sit ye down low; for your headtires are come down, even your beautiful crown.'

19 The towns in the Negev are surrounded; no one can get through to them. The whole of Judah has been taken away into exile, everyone has been exiled.

The cities of the South are shut up, and there is none to open them; Judah is carried away captive all of it; it is wholly carried away captive.

20 Look up and you'll see the invaders coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you to look after? Where are the sheep you were so proud of?

Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north; where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

21 What are you going to say when he puts your enemies in charge of you, people you once counted as your friends? Won't you suffer pains like a woman in labor?

What wilt thou say, when He shall set the friends over thee as head, whom thou thyself hast trained against thee? Shall not pangs take hold of thee, as of a woman in travail?

22 If you say to yourself, Why has this happened to me? it's because you have been so wicked. That's why your skirts were stripped off and you were raped.

And if thou say in thy heart: 'Wherefore are these things befallen me?' — for the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels suffer violence.

23 Can Ethiopians change the color of their skin? Can a leopard change its spots? In the same way you can't change and do good because you're so used to doing evil.

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

24 I'm going to scatter you like chaff blown away by the desert wind.

Therefore will I scatter them, as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.

25 This is what's going to happen to you; this is what I have decided to do to you, declares the Lord, because you have forgotten me and believed in lies.

This is thy lot, the portion measured unto thee from Me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten Me, and trusted in falsehood.

26 I will pull your skirts up over your face, so you will be seen naked and ashamed.

Therefore will I also uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and thy shame shall appear.

27 I watched your acts of adultery and lust, how you prostituted yourselves shamelessly, worshiping idols on the hills and in the fields. Yes, I saw the disgusting things you did. Disaster is coming to you, Jerusalem! How long are you going to remain unclean?

Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy harlotry, on the hills in the field have I seen thy detestable acts. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean! When shall it ever be?