Jeremiah 13
Legacy Standard Bible
The Ruined Belt
13 Thus Yahweh said to me, “Go and (A)buy yourself a linen belt and put it around your loins, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the belt in accordance with the (B)word of Yahweh and put it around my loins. 3 Then the word of Yahweh came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the belt that you have bought, which is around your loins, and arise, go to [a]the (C)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, (D)as Yahweh had commanded me. 6 Now it happened that after many days Yahweh said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the belt which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the belt from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the belt was ruined; it was totally worthless.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Just so will I ruin the (E)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who (F)refuse to listen to My words, who (G)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have walked after other gods to serve them and to worship them, let them be just like this belt which is totally worthless. 11 For as the belt clings to the loins of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah (H)cling to Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for a (I)name, for (J)praise, and for beauty; but they (K)did not listen.’
The Magnitude of Israel’s Iniquity
12 “Therefore you are to say this word to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with (L)drunkenness! 14 I will (M)shatter them against each other, both the (N)fathers and the sons together,” declares Yahweh. “I will (O)not spare nor show pity nor have compassion so as not to ruin them.”’”
15 Listen and give ear, do not be (P)haughty,
For Yahweh has spoken.
16 (Q)Give glory to Yahweh your God,
Before He brings (R)darkness
And before your (S)feet [b]stumble
On the dusky mountains;
And while you are hoping for light,
He makes it into the (T)shadow of death
And turns it into dense gloom.
17 But (U)if you will not listen to it,
My soul will (V)cry in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears
Because the (W)flock of Yahweh has been taken captive.
18 Say to the (X)king and the queen mother,
“(Y)Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful (Z)crown
Has come down from your head.”
19 The (AA)cities of the Negev have been closed up,
And there is no one to open them;
All (AB)Judah has been taken away into exile,
Wholly taken away into exile.
20 “Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming (AC)from the north.
Where is the (AD)flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former [c](AE)companions to be head over you?
Will not (AF)pangs seize you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22 If you (AG)say in your heart,
‘(AH)Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the (AI)magnitude of your iniquity
(AJ)Your skirts have been uncovered
And your heels have suffered violence.
23 (AK)Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can (AL)do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 Therefore I will (AM)scatter them like chaff passing away
Into the wilderness (AN)wind.
25 This is your (AO)lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares Yahweh,
“Because you have (AP)forgotten Me
And trusted in lies.
26 So I Myself have also (AQ)stripped your skirts off over your face,
That your disgrace may be seen.
27 As for your (AR)adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The (AS)lewdness of your prostitution
On the (AT)hills in the field,
I have seen your detestable things.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
(AU)How long will you not cleanse yourself?”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or Parah, cf. Josh 18:23; so through v 7
- Jeremiah 13:16 Lit smite
- Jeremiah 13:21 Or chieftains
Jeremiah 13
Common English Bible
Jeremiah’s symbolic acts
13 The Lord proclaimed to me: Go and buy a linen undergarment. Wear it for a while without washing it. 2 So I bought a linen undergarment, as the Lord told me, and I put it on. 3 The Lord spoke to me again: 4 Take the undergarment that you are wearing and go at once to the Euphrates and put it under a rock. 5 So I went and buried it at the Euphrates,[a] as the Lord instructed. 6 After a long time, the Lord said to me: Return to the Euphrates and dig up the undergarment that I commanded you to bury there. 7 So I went to the Euphrates and I dug up the linen undergarment from the place I had buried it. But it was ruined and good for nothing.
8 Then the Lord’s word came to me: 9 The Lord proclaims: In the same way I will ruin the brazen pride of Judah and Jerusalem! 10 Instead of listening to me, this wicked people follow their own willful hearts and pursue other gods, worshipping and serving them. They will become like this linen garment—good for nothing! 11 Just as a linen undergarment clings to the body, so I created the people of Israel and Judah to cling to me, declares the Lord, to be my people for my honor, praise, and grandeur. But they wouldn’t obey.
12 So deliver this word to them: The Lord the God of Israel proclaims: Every wine jug should be filled with wine. And they will answer you, “Don’t we already know that? Obviously every wine jug should be filled with wine!” 13 Then you should say to them: The Lord proclaims: I’m going to fill everyone who lives in this country with wine that makes them drunk, including the kings on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 And I will shatter every one of them, even parents and children, declares the Lord. I won’t take pity; I won’t have compassion; I will show no mercy when I destroy them.
15 Listen closely, don’t be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.
16 Honor the Lord your God,
before it’s too late,
before you stumble
on the mountain paths
in the evening shadows.
Then you will hope for light,
only to find darkness and gloom.
17 If you are too proud to listen,
I will go off alone
and cry my eyes out.
I will weep uncontrollably
because the Lord’s flock
will be dragged off into exile.
18 Tell the king and the queen mother:
Come down from your lofty place,
because your glorious crowns
will soon be removed from your heads.
19 The towns of the arid southern plain will be surrounded;
no one will get in or out;
all Judah will be taken into exile;
everyone will be led away.
20 Lift up your eyes
and see who is approaching from the north.
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say when he appoints someone as head over you:
your defenders, your trusted allies?[b]
Won’t pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?
22 And when you ask yourself,
Why have all these things happened to me?
it is because of your many sins
that you have been stripped and violated.
23 Can a Cushite change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
when doing evil comes so naturally.
24 So I will scatter you[c] like straw
that is blown away by the desert winds.
25 This is the future
that I have prepared for you,
declares the Lord,
because you have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.
26 I myself will pull up your skirt over your face
and expose your shame.
27 I have seen your adultery and lust,
your disgusting idols and shameless prostitution
on the hills and in the fields.
How terrible for you, Jerusalem!
How long will you remain dirty?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:5 Heb Perath
- Jeremiah 13:21 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 13:24 Or them
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