¹¹ He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the gentiles.’ ”^(A)

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

The Linen Loincloth

13 Thus said the Lord to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it on your loins, but do not dip it in water.”^{(A) 2} So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord and put it on my loins.^{(B) 3} And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ⁴ “Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates,^[a] and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.”^{(C) 5} So I went and hid it by the Euphrates,^[b] as the Lord commanded me.^{(D) 6} And after many days the Lord said to me, “Go now to the Euphrates,^[c] and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates^[d] and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But now the loincloth was ruined; it was good for nothing.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ Thus says the Lord: Just so I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.^{(E) 10} This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own will and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.^{(F) 11} For as the loincloth clings to one’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, in order that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. But they would not listen.^(G)

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

²³ except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.^(A)

¹⁹ Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting this way?” 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: I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart’s desire, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.^{(A) 22} And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.^{[a] 23} Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another.^{(B) 24} Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.”^(C)

²⁵ And you, mortal, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their heart’s affection, and also^[b] their sons and their daughters,^(D)

¹⁰ Then you shall break the jug in the sight of those 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 as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended. In Topheth they shall bury until there is no more room to bury.^(A)

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

¹¹ Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.”^(A)