Jeremiah 13
New Living Translation
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.” 2 So I bought the loincloth as the Lord directed me, and I put it on.
3 Then the Lord gave me another message: 4 “Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River.[a] Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as the Lord had instructed me.
6 A long time afterward the Lord said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.” 7 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.
8 Then I received this message from the Lord: 9 “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?”
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
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.