Jeremiah 13
World English Bible
13 Yahweh said to me, “Go, and buy yourself a linen belt, and put it on your waist, and don’t put it in water.”
2 So I bought a belt according to Yahweh’s word, and put it on my waist.
3 Yahweh’s word came to me the second time, saying, 4 “Take the belt that you have bought, which is on your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.”
5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Yahweh commanded me.
6 After many days, Yahweh said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the belt from there, which I commanded you to hide there.”
7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and took the belt from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the belt was ruined. It was profitable for nothing.
8 Then Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 9 “Yahweh says, ‘In this way I, will ruin the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and have gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, will even be as this belt, which is profitable for nothing. 11 For as the belt clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to me,’ says Yahweh; ‘that they may be to me for a people, for a name, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’
12 “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel says, “Every container should be filled with wine.”’ They will tell you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every container should be filled with wine?’ 13 Then tell them, ‘Yahweh says, “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14 I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says Yahweh: “I will not pity, spare, or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.”’”
15 Hear, and give ear.
Don’t be proud,
for Yahweh has spoken.
16 Give glory to Yahweh your God,
before he causes darkness,
and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains,
and while you look for light,
he turns it into the shadow of death,
and makes it deep darkness.
17 But if you will not hear it,
my soul will weep in secret for your pride.
My eye will weep bitterly,
and run down with tears,
because Yahweh’s flock has been taken captive.
18 Say to the king and to the queen mother,
“Humble yourselves.
Sit down, for your crowns have come down,
even the crown of your glory.
19 The cities of the South are shut up,
and there is no one to open them.
Judah is carried away captive: all of them.
They are wholly carried away captive.
20 Lift up your eyes,
and see those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given to you,
your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say, when he sets over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you?
Won’t sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?
22 If you say in your heart,
“Why have these things come on me?”
Your skirts are uncovered because of the greatness of your iniquity,
and your heels suffer violence.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
or the leopard his spots?
Then may you also do good,
who are accustomed to do evil.
24 “Therefore I will scatter them,
as the stubble that passes away,
by the wind of the wilderness.
25 This is your lot,
the portion measured to you from me,” says Yahweh,
“because you have forgotten me,
and trusted in falsehood.”
26 Therefore I will also uncover your skirts on your face,
and your shame will appear.
27 I have seen your abominations, even your adulteries,
and your neighing, the lewdness of your prostitution,
on the hills in the field.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You will not be made clean.
How long will it yet be?”
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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