Jeremiah 13:1-11

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Linen Underwear

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment^(A) and put it on,^[a] but do not put it in water.” ² So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.

³ Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: ⁴ “Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,^[b] and go at once to the Euphrates^[c] and hide it in a rocky crevice.”^{(B) 5} So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

⁶ A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined—of no use at all.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.^{(C) 10} These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,^(D) and who have followed other gods to serve and worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. ¹¹ Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”^(E)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory,^(F) but they would not obey.