13 The destruction of the Jews is prefigured. 11 Why Israel was received to be the people of God, and why they were forsaken. 15 He exhorteth them to repentance.

Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go, and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

So I bought the girdle according to the commandment of the Lord, and put it upon my loins.

And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,

Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go toward [a]Perath, and hide it there in the cleft of the rock.

So I went, and hid it by Perath, as the Lord had commanded me.

And after many days the Lord said unto me, Arise, go toward Perath, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.

Then went I to Perath, and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it, and behold, the girdle was corrupt, and was profitable for nothing.

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I destroy the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

10 This wicked people have refused to hear my word, and walk after the stubbornness of their own heart, and walk after other gods to serve them, and to worship them: therefore they shall be as this girdle, which is profitable to nothing.

11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I tied to me the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord, that they might be my people: that they might have a name, and praise, and glory, but they would not hear.

12 Therefore thou shalt say unto them this word, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every [b]bottle shall be filled with wine, and they shall say unto thee, do we not know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon the throne of David, and the Priests and the Prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness.

14 And I will [c]dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not spare, I will not pity, nor have compassion, but destroy them.

15 Hear and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken it.

16 Give glory to the Lord your God before he bring [d]darkness, and or ever your feet stumble in the dark mountains, and while you look for [e]light, he turn it into the shadow of death and make it as darkness.

17 But if ye will not hear this, my soul shall [f]weep in secret for your pride, and mine eye shall weep and drop down tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.

18 Say unto the [g]King and to the Queen: Humble yourselves, sit down, for the crown of your glory shall come down from your heads.

19 The cities of [h]the South shall be shut up, and no man shall open them: all Judah shall be carried away captive: it shall be wholly carried away captive:

20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the North: where is the [i]flock that was given thee, even thy beautiful flock?

21 What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee? (for thou hast [j]taught them to be captains and as chief over thee) shall not sorrow take thee as a woman in travail?

22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the multitude of thine iniquities are thy skirts [k]discovered and thy heels made bare.

23 Can the black Moor change his skin? or the leopard his spots, then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil?

24 Therefore will I scatter them, as the stubble that is taken away with the South wind.

25 This is thy portion, and the part of thy measures from me, saith the Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in lies.

26 Therefore I have also discovered thy skirts upon thy face, [l]that thy shame may appear.

27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy [m]neighings, the filthiness of thy whoredom on the hills in [n]the fields, and thine abominations. [Woe] unto thee, O Jerusalem: wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 13:4 Because this river Perath or Euphrates was far from Jerusalem, it is evident that this was a vision, whereby was signified that the Jews should pass over Euphrates to be captives in Babylon, and there for length of time should seem to be rotten, although they were joined to the Lord before as a girdle about a man.
  2. Jeremiah 13:12 Every one of you shall be filled with spiritual drunkenness, and be without all knowledge to seek how to help yourselves.
  3. Jeremiah 13:14 It shall be as easy for me to destroy the greatest and the strongest, as it is for a man to break earthen bottles.
  4. Jeremiah 13:16 That is, affliction and misery by the Babylonians, Isa. 8:22.
  5. Jeremiah 13:16 Meaning, for help and support of the Egyptians.
  6. Jeremiah 13:17 You shall surely be led away captive, and I, according to mine affection towards you, shall weep and lament for your stubbornness.
  7. Jeremiah 13:18 For Jehoiachin and his mother rendered themselves by Jeremiah’s counsel to the king of Babylon, 2 Kings 24:12.
  8. Jeremiah 13:19 That is, of Judah, which lieth Southward from Babylon.
  9. Jeremiah 13:20 He asketh the king, where his people is become.
  10. Jeremiah 13:21 By seeking to strangers for help, thou hast made them skillful to fight against thee.
  11. Jeremiah 13:22 The cloak of hypocrisy shall be pulled off, and thy shame seen.
  12. Jeremiah 13:26 As thine iniquities have been manifest to all the world, so shall thy shame and punishment.
  13. Jeremiah 13:27 He compareth idolaters to horses inflamed after mares.
  14. Jeremiah 13:27 There is no place so high nor low, whereas the marks and signs of thine idolatry appear not.

13 Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.

And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,

Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.

Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.

16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock is carried away captive.

18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.

20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.

25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.

27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

The Ruined Loincloth

13 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and (A)put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, (B)go to the Euphrates and hide it there in (C)a cleft of the rock.” So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there (D)the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took (E)the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was (F)spoiled; it was (G)good for nothing.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “Thus says the Lord: (H)Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great (I)pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, (J)who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is (K)good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, (L)that they might be for me a people, (M)a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that (N)every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: (O)Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: (P)the kings who sit on David's throne, (Q)the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will (R)dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,
    for the Lord has spoken.
16 (S)Give glory to the Lord your God
    (T)before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
    on the twilight mountains,
and (U)while you look for light
    he turns it into gloom
    and makes it (V)deep darkness.
17 But if you will not listen,
    (W)my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
    because the Lord's flock has been taken captive.

18 Say to (X)the king and (Y)the queen mother:
    “Take a lowly seat,
for (Z)your beautiful crown
    has come down from your head.”
19 (AA)The cities of the Negeb are shut up,
    with none to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
    wholly taken into exile.

20 “Lift up your eyes (AB)and see
    those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
    your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say when they set as head over you
    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?
(AC)Will not pangs take hold of you
    like those of a woman in labor?
22 And if you say in your heart,
    (AD)‘Why have these things come upon me?’
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
    that (AE)your skirts are lifted up
    and you suffer violence.
23 (AF)Can the Ethiopian change his skin
    or (AG)the leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
    who are accustomed to do evil.
24 I will scatter you[a] (AH)like chaff
    driven by the wind from the desert.
25 (AI)This is your lot,
    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,
because (AJ)you have forgotten me
    and trusted in lies.
26 (AK)I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
    and your shame will be seen.
27 I have seen (AL)your abominations,
    your adulteries and (AM)neighings, your lewd whorings,
    (AN)on the hills in the field.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
    How long will it be (AO)before you are made clean?”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 13:24 Hebrew them