Jeremiah 13

1 Thus saith the LORD to me, Go and get for thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

This is what the Lord said to me: Go and get yourself a linen band and put it round you and do not put it in water.

2 So I procured a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put [it] on my loins.

So, as the Lord said, I got a band for a price and put it round my body.

3 And the word of the LORD came to 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 procured, which [is] upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

Take the band which you got for a price, which is round your body, and go to Parah and put it in a secret place there in a hole of the rock.

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

So I went and put it in a secret place by Parah, as the Lord had said to me.

6 And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said to me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.

Then after a long time, the Lord said to me, Up! go to Parah and get the band which I gave you orders to put there.

7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

So I went to Parah and, uncovering the hole, took the band from the place where I had put it away: and the band was damaged and of no use for anything.

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

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

9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

The Lord has said, In this way I will do damage to the pride of Judah and to the great pride of Jerusalem.

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

These evil people who say they will not give ear to my words, who go on in the pride of their hearts and have become servants and worshippers of other gods, will become like this band which is of no use for anything.

11 For as the 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 the LORD; that they might be to me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

For as a band goes tightly round a man's body, so I made all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah tightly united to me; so that they might be a people for me and a name and a praise and a glory: but they would not give ear.

12 Therefore thou shalt speak to them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say to thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

So you are to say this word to them: This is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel: Every skin bottle will be full of wine; and they will say to you, Is it not quite clear to us that every skin bottle will be full of wine?

13 Then shalt thou say to them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

Then you are to say to them, The Lord has said, I will make all the people of this land, even the kings seated on David's seat, and the priests and the prophets and all the people of Jerusalem, overcome with strong drink.

14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

I will have them smashed against one another, fathers and sons together, says the Lord: I will have no pity or mercy, I will have no feeling for them to keep me from giving them to destruction.

15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.

Give ear and let your ears be open; be not lifted up: for these are the words of the Lord.

16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he shall cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he shall turn it into the shades of death, [and] make [it] gross darkness.

Give glory to the Lord your God, before he makes it dark, and before your feet are slipping on the dark mountains, and, while you are looking for a light, he makes it into deep dark, into black night.

17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for [your] pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

But if you do not give ear to it, my soul will be weeping in secret for your pride; my eye will be weeping bitterly, streaming with water, because the Lord's flock has been taken away as prisoners.

18 Say to the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.

Say to the king and to the queen-mother, Make yourselves low, be seated on the earth: for the crown of your glory has come down from your heads.

19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open [them]; Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.

The towns of the south are shut up, and there is no one to make them open: Judah is taken away as prisoners; all Judah is taken away as prisoners.

20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where [is] the flock [that] was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

Let your eyes be lifted up (O Jerusalem), and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock which was given to you, your beautiful flock?

21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them [to be] captains, [and] as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

What will you say when he puts over you those whom you yourself have made your friends? will not pains take you like a woman in childbirth?

22 And if thou shalt say in thy heart, Why come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, [and] thy heels made bare.

And if you say in your heart, Why have these things come on me? because of the number of your sins, your skirts have been uncovered and violent punishment overtakes you.

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

Is it possible for the skin of the Ethiopian to be changed, or the markings on the leopard? Then it might be possible for you to do good, who have been trained to do evil.

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

So I will send them in all directions, as dry grass is taken away by the wind of the waste land.

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 fate, the part measured out to you by me, says the Lord, because you have put me out of your memory and put your faith in what is false.

26 Therefore will I uncover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.

So I will have your skirts uncovered before your face, in order that your shame may be seen.

27 I have seen thy adulteries, and thy neighings, the enormity of thy lewdness, [and] thy abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to thee O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when [shall it] once [be]?

I have seen your disgusting acts, even your false behaviour and your cries of desire and your loose ways on the hills in the field. Unhappy are you, O Jerusalem, you have no desire to be made clean; how long will you be in turning back to me?