Jeremiah 13

1 Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it around thy loins, and lay it not in 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 the girdle, according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my loins.

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

3 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,

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

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

“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 by the Euphrates, as the Lord has commanded me.

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

6 And it came to pass at the end of 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.

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 And I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it: and, behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was useful for nothing.

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 came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,

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

9 Thus hath said the Lord, After this manner will I destroy the pride of Judah, and the pride of Jerusalem, which is great.

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

10 And this bad people, who refuse to hearken to my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and have followed other gods, to serve them, and to bow down to them, shall even be as this girdle which is useful for nothing.

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 as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so had I caused to cleave unto me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah, saith the Lord, —to become unto me a people, and [to be] for a name, and for praise, and for honor; but they would not hear.

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 shalt thou say unto them this word, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and when they will say unto thee, Do we not know full well that every bottle shall 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 shalt thou say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit after David upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

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 And I will dash them one against the other, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, so as not to destroy 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 Hear ye, and bend your ear: be not proud; for the Lord hath spoken.

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

16 Give unto the Lord your God glory, before he cause darkness, and before your feet strike upon the mountains of twilight, and [where], while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and change it into gross 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 ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places because of [your] pride; and my eye shall weep sorely, and run down with tears, because the flock of the Lord is driven away 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 unto the king and to the queen-mother, Sit down very lowly; for sunk down are your head-attires, the crown of your ornament.

“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 south are shut up, and there is no one to open them: Judah is carried away into exile altogether, it is carried into exile completely.

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 that are coming from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy splendid flock?

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 wilt thou say when he will punish thee? since thou hast accustomed them to be over thee captains, and chiefs? shall not pangs seize upon thee, as on a woman in travail?

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 thou wilt say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts laid open, thy heels are made bare violently.

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? [then] may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do 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 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away before the wind of the wilderness.

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

25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast 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 Therefore do I also strip up thy skirts over thy face, that thy shame may be seen.

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

27 Thy adulteries and thy loud shoutings, the lewdness of thy incest, thy abominations on the hills in the fields have I seen. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean after ever so long a time.

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?”