A Linen Belt

13 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy a linen belt. Put it around your waist. But do not let it get wet.” ² So I bought a belt, just as the Lord had told me to do. And I put it around my waist.

³ Then another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ⁴ “Take off the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist. Go to Perath. Hide the belt there in a crack in the rocks.” ⁵ So I went and hid it at Perath. I did just as the Lord had told me to do.

⁶ Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go to Perath. Get the belt I told you to hide there.” ⁷ So I went to Perath. I dug up the belt. I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But it had rotted. It was completely useless.

⁸ Then another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ⁹ “In the same way, I will destroy Judah’s pride. And I will destroy the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ These people are evil. They refuse to listen to what I say. They do what their stubborn hearts want them to do. They chase after other gods. They serve them and worship them. So they will be like this belt. They will be completely useless.