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
Evangelical Heritage Version
A Linen Undergarment
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and purchase a linen undergarment[a] for yourself. Put it around your waist. Do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought an undergarment as the Lord said, and I put it on.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the undergarment you purchased, the one you are wearing around your waist, and go right now to Perath[b] and hide it there in a cleft in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord commanded me.
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go to Perath and retrieve the undergarment I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and searched. I took the undergarment from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and worthless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me.
9 This is what the Lord says. I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem in the same way. 10 These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They follow their own stubborn hearts. They follow after other gods by serving them and worshipping them. They are all like this worthless undergarment. 11 Just as an undergarment fits tightly around a man’s waist, in the same way I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord. I did this so that they would be my people and so that they would bring praise and honor to my name, but they would not listen.
The Broken Wine Jar
12 Give this message to them.
This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “Every clay jar will be filled with wine.” Then they will say to you, “We know that every clay jar will be filled with wine.”
13 So say to them, “This is what the Lord says. I will certainly make everyone who lives in this land drunk. The kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all those who live in Jerusalem will become drunk. 14 Then I will smash them to pieces—a man against his brother, fathers, and sons, declares the Lord. I will not spare them. I will destroy them without pity or compassion.”
15 Listen and pay attention!
Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Honor the Lord your God before he brings darkness,
and before your feet stumble on the mountains at dusk.
You will look for light,
but he will turn it into the shadow of death
and change it into deep darkness.
17 If you will not listen,
I will cry for you in secret because of your arrogance.
My eyes will weep bitterly and overflow with tears,
because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.
18 Say to the king and to the queen mother,
“Come down from your thrones,
because your crowns will fall from your heads.”[c]
19 The cities of the Negev are under siege,
and no one can get through to them.
All of Judah will be taken into exile.
They will be carried away completely.
20 Look up and see those who are coming from the north.
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
the sheep you were so proud of?
The Future of Jerusalem
21 What will you say when associates whom you yourself have taught are appointed as masters over you? Won’t pain seize you like a woman in labor? 22 If you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” you should know that it is because of your great guilt that your skirt has been torn off, and you have been violated.
23 Can an Ethiopian[d] change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard change its spots?
Just as little can you, who are disciples of evil, do good.
24 I will scatter you like chaff blown by the desert wind.
25 This is your lot.
This is what I have assigned to you,
declares the Lord.
This will take place because you have forgotten me
and trusted in falsehood.
26 I myself will lift your skirt over your head,
so that your shame can be seen—
27 your adulteries, your lust-filled neighing,
and your shameless prostitution.
I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the countryside.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean.
After this, will you ever be clean again?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:1 Suggested translations include loincloth, shorts, wrap, and belt. It was probably a skirt-like garment reaching from the waist to the knees.
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or the Euphrates. The Hebrew name Perath is often used in the Old Testament as the name for the river Euphrates, which was about 350 miles away. Was Jeremiah told to make the long journey to the Euphrates or to go to a nearby location whose name served as a symbol of the Euphrates? We do not have enough information to answer the question.
- Jeremiah 13:18 The Greek and other versions support the reading fall from your heads. The meaning of the reading in the Hebrew text is uncertain.
- Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite. Cush was the territory just south of Egypt, present-day Sudan. Cushite refers to black Africans.
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