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Jeremiah’s Linen Loincloth

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it on, but do not wash it.” So I bought the loincloth as the Lord directed me, and I put it on.

Then the Lord gave me another message: “Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River.[a] Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.” So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as the Lord had instructed me.

A long time afterward the Lord said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.” So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was rotting and falling apart. The loincloth was good for nothing.

Then I received this message from the Lord: “This is what the Lord says: This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing! 11 As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me.

12 “So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: May all your jars be filled with wine.’ And they will reply, ‘Of course! Jars are made to be filled with wine!’

13 “Then tell them, ‘No, this is what the Lord means: I will fill everyone in this land with drunkenness—from the king sitting on David’s throne to the priests and the prophets, right down to the common people of Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says the Lord. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’”

A Warning against Pride

15 Listen and pay attention!
    Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God
    before it is too late.
Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you,
    causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains.
For then, when you look for light,
    you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.
17 And if you still refuse to listen,
    I will weep alone because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
    because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile.

18 Say to the king and his mother,
“Come down from your thrones
    and sit in the dust,
for your glorious crowns
    will soon be snatched from your heads.”
19 The towns of the Negev will close their gates,
    and no one will be able to open them.
The people of Judah will be taken away as captives.
    All will be carried into exile.

20 Open up your eyes and see
    the armies marching down from the north!
Where is your flock—
    your beautiful flock—
    that he gave you to care for?
21 What will you say when the Lord takes the allies you have cultivated
    and appoints them as your rulers?
Pangs of anguish will grip you,
    like those of a woman in labor!
22 You may ask yourself,
“Why is all this happening to me?”
    It is because of your many sins!
That is why you have been stripped
    and raped by invading armies.
23 Can an Ethiopian[b] change the color of his skin?
    Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
    for you have always done evil.

24 “I will scatter you like chaff
    that is blown away by the desert winds.
25 This is your allotment,
    the portion I have assigned to you,”
    says the Lord,
“for you have forgotten me,
    putting your trust in false gods.
26 I myself will strip you
    and expose you to shame.
27 I have seen your adultery and lust,
    and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills.
What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem!
    How long before you are pure?”

Footnotes

  1. 13:4 Hebrew Perath; also in 13:5, 6, 7.
  2. 13:23 Hebrew a Cushite.

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(A) “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[a](B) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(C)

Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(D) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(E) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(F) and go after other gods(G) to serve and worship them,(H) will be like this belt—completely useless!(I) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(J) and praise and honor.(K) But they have not listened.’(L)

Wineskins

12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(M) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(N) or mercy or compassion(O) to keep me from destroying(P) them.’”

Threat of Captivity

15 Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.(Q)
16 Give glory(R) to the Lord your God
    before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(S)
    on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
    but he will turn it to utter darkness
    and change it to deep gloom.(T)
17 If you do not listen,(U)
    I will weep in secret
    because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
    overflowing with tears,(V)
    because the Lord’s flock(W) will be taken captive.(X)

18 Say to the king(Y) and to the queen mother,(Z)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(AA)
    will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(AB) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

20 Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.(AC)
Where is the flock(AD) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?(AE)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?(AF)
22 And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”(AG)
it is because of your many sins(AH)
    that your skirts have been torn off(AI)
    and your body mistreated.(AJ)
23 Can an Ethiopian[b] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.(AK)

24 “I will scatter you like chaff(AL)
    driven by the desert wind.(AM)
25 This is your lot,
    the portion(AN) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(AO) me
    and trusted in false gods.(AP)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen(AQ)
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!(AR)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.(AS)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
  2. Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)

Jesus, the True Vine

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

The World’s Hatred

18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures[a]: ‘They hated me without cause.’

26 “But I will send you the Advocate[b]—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

Footnotes

  1. 15:25 Greek in their law. Pss 35:19; 69:4.
  2. 15:26 Or Comforter, or Encourager, or Counselor. Greek reads Paraclete.

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am(A) the true vine,(B) and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,(C) while every branch that does bear fruit(D) he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.(E) Remain in me, as I also remain in you.(F) No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;(G) apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.(H) If you remain in me(I) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(J) This is to my Father’s glory,(K) that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(L)

“As the Father has loved me,(M) so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands,(N) you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(O) 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.(P) 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(Q) 14 You are my friends(R) if you do what I command.(S) 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.(T) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you(U) so that you might go and bear fruit(V)—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.(W) 17 This is my command: Love each other.(X)

The World Hates the Disciples

18 “If the world hates you,(Y) keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you(Z) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.(AA) 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[b](AB) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.(AC) If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name,(AD) for they do not know the one who sent me.(AE) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(AF) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(AG) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(AH) they would not be guilty of sin.(AI) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(AJ) ‘They hated me without reason.’[c](AK)

The Work of the Holy Spirit

26 “When the Advocate(AL) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father(AM)—the Spirit of truth(AN) who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.(AO) 27 And you also must testify,(AP) for you have been with me from the beginning.(AQ)

Footnotes

  1. John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.
  2. John 15:20 John 13:16
  3. John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4