Jeremiah 13

1 Thus says the LORD to me, "Go, and buy yourself a linen belt, and put it on your waist, and do not put it in water."

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.

2 So I bought a belt according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my waist.

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

3 The word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying,

Then the Lord gave me another message:

4 "Take the belt that you have bought, which is on your waist, and arise, go to the Perath, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock."

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.

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

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

6 It happened after many days, that the LORD said to me, "Arise, go to the Perath, and take the belt from there, which I commanded you to hide there."

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

7 Then I went to the Perath, and dug, and took the belt from the place where I had hidden it; and look, the belt was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

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

8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Then a message from the Lord came to me:

9 "Thus says the LORD, 'In this way I will mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

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

10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this belt, which is profitable for nothing.

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.

11 For as the belt clings to the waist of a man, so have I caused to cling to me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah,' says the LORD; 'that they might be my people, for a name, for praise, and for glory. But they would not listen.

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.

12 Therefore you shall speak to them this word: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "Every jar shall be filled with wine."' And if they shall say to you, 'Do we not certainly know that every jar shall be filled with wine?'

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!”

13 Then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the LORD, "Look, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings who sit on David's throne, and the cohanim, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

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.

14 I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, says the LORD. I will not pity, nor spare, nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them."'"

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.

15 "Hear, and give ear; do not be proud; for the LORD has spoken.

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

16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it gross darkness.

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.

17 But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is taken captive."

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.

18 "Say to the king and to the queen mother, 'Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have come down from your heads.

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

19 The cities toward the Negev are shut, and there is no one to open them: Judah is carried away into exile, all of it; it is wholly carried away into exile.'"

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.

20 "Lift up your eyes, and see those who come from the north: where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful flock?

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?

21 What will you say, when he shall set over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? Shall not sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?

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?

22 If you say in your heart, 'Why are these things come on me?' for the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts uncovered, and your heels suffer violence.

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.

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

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.

24 'therefore I will scatter them, as the stubble that passes away, by the wind of the wilderness.

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

25 This is your lot, the portion measured to you from me,' says the LORD; 'because you have forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

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.

26 therefore I will also uncover your skirts on your face, and your shame shall appear.

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

27 I have seen your abominations, even your adulteries, and your neighing, the lewdness of your prostitution, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem. You will not be made clean; how long shall it yet be?'"

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?