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 saith Jehovah to me: Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it on thy loins, and put it not into 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 Jehovah, and put it on my loins.
3 Then the Lord gave me another message:
Then the word of Jehovah came to 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 which thou hast gotten, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole 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 near the Euphrates, as Jehovah 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 after many days Jehovah said to me. Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle 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 the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it; and, behold, the girdle was marred, so that it was good for nothing.
8 Then a message from the Lord came to me:
Then the word of Jehovah came to 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 Jehovah: 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.
This evil people, Who refuse to hearken to my words, Who walk after the obstinacy of their heart, And walk after strange gods, To serve them and to worship them, Shall be like this girdle, Which is good 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 a girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, So have I caused to cleave to me the whole house of Israel, And the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah, That they might be to me a people, And a name, and a praise, and a glory; But they hearkened not to me.
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!”
Then shalt thou speak to them in this manner. Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Every flagon shall be filled with wine. And they will say to thee, “Do we not know that every flagon shall be 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 to them, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, And 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 fathers and children together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, Nor show mercy, so as not to destroy them.
15 Listen and pay attention. Don't be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
Hear ye, and attend! be not lifted up! For Jehovah speaketh.
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 Jehovah, your God, Before he bring darkness, And your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, And, while ye look for light, He turn it into deathlike shade, 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, I will mourn in secret places for your pride, I will weep continually, And my eyes shall run down with tears, Because the flock of Jehovah 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 to the king and to the queen, Sit ye down upon the ground, For your beautiful crown shall fall from your heads.
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 none openeth them; Judah is carried away captive, all of it, Every man of it is 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 punish thee? For thou thyself hast taught them to be lords over thee. Shall not sorrows seize thee, as 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 thine heart, “Wherefore are these things coming upon me?” For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, And thy heels made bare.
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, Who have been accustomed to do evil.
24 I'm going to scatter you like chaff blown away by the desert wind.
Therefore will I scatter you like stubble, Which passeth away before the wind of the desert.
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 out for thee by me, saith Jehovah, 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 lift up thy skirts over thy head, So that thy shame shall be seen.
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, thy neighings, The lewdness of thy whoredom on the hills, in the fields, All thy abominations, have I seen. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem! How long ere thou wilt become pure!
