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, Go and procure for yourself a linen girdle, and put it about your loins, and let it not be put in water.

2 So I bought the girdle, according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my loins.

So I procured the girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it about 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, 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 girdle that is upon your loins, and arise, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

5 So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord has commanded me.

So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded 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 came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle, which I commanded 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.

So I went to the river Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle out of the place where I [had] buried it: and, behold, it was rotten, utterly good for nothing.

8 Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thus says the Lord,

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 will I mar the pride of Juda, and the pride of Jerusalem;

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.

[even] this great pride [of the men] that will not listen to my words, and have gone after strange gods, to serve them, and to worship them: and they shall be as this girdle, which can be used for nothing.

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 as a girdle cleaves about the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave to myself the house of Israel, and the whole house of Juda; that they might be to me a famous people, and a praise, and a glory: but they did not listen to me.

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?

And you shall say to this people, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and it shall come to pass, if they shall say to you, Shall we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? that you shall say to them,

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.

Thus says the Lord, Behold, I [will] fill the inhabitants of this land, and their kings the sons of David that sit upon their throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and Juda and all the dwellers in Jerusalem, with strong drink.

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 and his brother, and their fathers and their sons together: I will not have compassion, says the Lord, and I will not spare, neither will I pity [to save them] from destruction.

15 Hear ye, and bend your ear: be not proud; for the Lord hath spoken.

Hear you, and give ear, and be not proud: 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 he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and you shall wait for light, and behold the shadow of death, and they shall be brought into 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, your soul shall weep in secret because of pride, and your eyes shall pour down tears, because the Lord's flock is sorely bruised.

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 you to the king and the princes, Humble yourselves, and sit down; for your crown of glory is removed 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 toward the south were shut, and there was none to open [them]: Juda is removed [into captivity, ]they have suffered a complete removal.

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, O Jerusalem, and behold them that come from the north; where is the flock that was given you, the sheep of your glory?

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 they shall visit you, for you did teach them lessons for rule against yourself; shall not pangs seize you as a woman in travail?

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.

And if you should say in your heart, Therefore have these things happened to me? Because of the abundance of your iniquity have your skirts been discovered, that your heels might be exposed.

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 shall change his skin, or the leopardess her spots, then shall you be able to do good, having learned evil.

24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away before the wind of the wilderness.

So I scattered them as sticks carried by the wind into the wilderness.

25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

Thus is your lot, and the reward of your disobedience to me, says the Lord; as you did forget me, and trust in lies,

26 Therefore do I also strip up thy skirts over thy face, that thy shame may be seen.

I also will expose your skirts upon your face, and your shame shall be 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.

your adultery also, and your neighing, and the looseness of your fornication: on the hills and in the fields I have seen your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem, for you have not been purified so as to follow me; how long yet [shall it be]?