¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(A)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(B)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(C)‘This is how the Jews^[a] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(D)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^(A)to be bound ^(B)with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.

The Ruined Loincloth

13 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and ^(A)put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” ² So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. ³ And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, ⁴ “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, ^(B)go to the Euphrates and hide it there in ^(C)a cleft of the rock.” ⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. ⁶ And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there ^(D)the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took ^(E)the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was ^(F)spoiled; it was ^(G)good for nothing.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “Thus says the Lord: ^(H)Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great ^(I)pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, ^(J)who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is ^(K)good for nothing. ¹¹ For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, ^(L)that they might be for me a people, ^(M)a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

^27 (A)As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ And Samuel said to him, ^(B)“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

²³ except that ^(A)the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that ^(B)imprisonment and ^(C)afflictions await me.

¹⁹ And ^(A)the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(B)Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^(C)your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And ^(D)you shall do as I have done; ^(E)you shall not cover your lips, ^(F)nor eat the bread of men. ^23 (G)Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ^(H)you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. ²⁴ Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^(I)a sign; ^(J)according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^(K)you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵ “As for you, ^(L)son of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^(M)their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters,

¹⁰ “Then ^(A)you shall break ^(B)the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, ¹¹ and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, ^(C)as one breaks a potter's vessel, ^(D)so that it can never be mended. ^(E)Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury.

¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. ¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in ^(A)Aphek until you have made an end of them.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. ¹⁹ Then ^(B)the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only ^(C)three times.”

¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself ^(A)horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these ^(B)you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’”