Jeremiah 13

1 Thus, said Yahweh unto me, —Go and buy for thyself a linen girdle, and put upon thy loins, —but in water, shalt thou not place it.

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.

2 So I bought a girdle according to the word of Yahweh, —and put upon my loins.

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

3 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me second time saying:

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

4 Take the girdle which thou hast bought which is upon thy loins, —and arise go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the cliff.

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.

5 So I went, and hid it, by the Euphrates, as Yahweh had commanded me.

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

6 And it came to pass, at the end of many days, —that Yahweh said unto me, —Arise go to the Euphrates, and take from thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.

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.

7 So I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle out of the place where I had hidden it, —and lo! the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing,

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.

8 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me saying:

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

9 Thus, saith Yahweh, —After this manner, will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.

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

10 This wicked people who are refusing to hear my words, who are walking in the stubbornness of their heart, and have gone after other gods, to serve them and to bow down to them, yea let them be like this girdle, which is good for nothing.

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.

11 For as a girdle cleaveth unto the loins of a man, so caused I to cleave unto me—the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah Declareth Yahweh, to become mine—For a people, and For a name, and For a praise and For an adorning, —but they hearkened not.

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.

12 Therefore shalt thou say unto them this word—Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel, Every jar, is to be filled with wine; and they will say unto thee, Do we not, know well, that every jar, is to be filled with wine?

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?

13 Then shalt thou say unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh—Behold me! filling all the inhabitants of this land Even the kings that are sitting for David upon his throne and the priests and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness;

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.

14 and I will dash them every man against his brother even the fathers and the sons together, Declareth Yahweh, —I will not pity, Neither will I spare, Neither will I have compassion, that I should not destroy them.

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.

15 Hear ye and give ear, be not haughty, —For Yahweh, hath spoken.

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

16 Give ye to Yahweh your God—glory, Before he cause darkness, and Before your feet stumble upon the twilight mountains; Lest, when ye wait for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, And change it for thick darkness.

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.

17 But if ye will not hear it, In secret places, shall my soul weep Because of the pride, And mine eye, shall flow over, and run down with tears, Because captive hath been taken the flock of Yahweh.

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.

18 Say thou to the king and to the queen-mother, Abase yourselves—Sit down, —For descended have your Head-tires, your Crown of adornment.

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.

19 The cities of the South, are shut And there is none to open, —Judah hath been carried away captive, She hath altogether been carried away captive in full number.

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.

20 Lift up your eyes and see Them who are coming in from the North, —Where is The flock that was given thee, Thy beautiful flock?

Lift up your eyes, and see those that are coming from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy splendid flock?

21 What wilt thou say when he shall bring punishment upon thee, Since, thou thyself, hast accustomed them to be over thee as friends in chief? Shall not, pangs, seize thee, as of a woman in childbirth?

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?

22 But if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore have these things befallen me? For the greatness of thine iniquity have Thy skirts been turned aside Thy heels suffered violence!

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.

23 Can the Ethiopian change, his skin, Or the leopard his spots? Even, ye, may be able to do right, Who are accustomed to do wrong.

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

24 Therefore have I scattered them, As broken straw passing away, by the wind of the desert.

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

25 This is thy lot Thy measured portion from me, Declareth Yahweh; For that thou didst forget me, And confide in falsehood:

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

26 Therefore, even I myself, have drawn away thy skirts, over thy face, And thy shame hath been seen,

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

27 Thine adulteries and thy neighings, thine unchaste wickedness, Upon the hills in the field, I have seen thine abominations! Woe to thee, O Jerusalem, Wilt thou not become pure? After how long yet?

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.