Jeremiah 13
Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah's Linen Shorts
13 The Lord told me, “Go and buy a pair of linen shorts. Wear them for a while, but don't wash them.” 2 So I bought a pair of shorts and put them on.
3 Then the Lord said, 4 “Take off the shorts. Go to Parah[a] and hide the shorts in a crack between some large rocks.” 5 And that's what I did.
6 Some time later the Lord said, “Go back and get the shorts.” 7 I went back and dug the shorts out of their hiding place, but the cloth had rotted, and the shorts were ruined.
8 Then the Lord said:
9 Jeremiah, I will use Babylonia to[b] destroy the pride of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 The people of Judah are evil and stubborn. So instead of listening to me, they do whatever they want and even worship other gods. When I am finished with these people, they will be good for nothing, just like this pair of shorts. 11 These shorts were tight around your waist, and that's how tightly I held onto the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted to make them famous, so that other nations would praise and honor me, but they refused to obey me.
Wine Jars
The Lord said:
12 Jeremiah, tell the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel orders you to fill your wine jars with wine.”
They will answer, “Of course we fill our wine jars with wine! Why are you telling us something we already know?”
13 Then say to them:
I am the Lord, and what I'm going to do will make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem appear to be full of wine. And the worst ones will be the kings of David's family and the priests and the prophets. 14 Then I will smash them against each other like jars. I will have no pity on the young or the old, and they will all be destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People of Judah Will Be Taken Away
15 People of Judah,
don't be too proud to listen
to what the Lord has said.
16 You hope for light,
but God is sending darkness.
Evening shadows already deepen
in the hills.
So return to God
and confess your sins to him
before you trip and fall.
17 If you are too proud to listen,
I will weep alone.
Tears will stream from my eyes
when the Lord's people
are taken away as prisoners.
18 The Lord told me to tell you
that your king and his mother[c]
must surrender their thrones
and remove their crowns.[d]
19 The cities in the Southern Desert
are surrounded;
no one can get in or out.
Everyone in Judah
will be taken away.
20 Jerusalem, you were so proud
of ruling the people of Judah.
But where are they now?
Look north, and you will see
your enemies approaching.
21 You once trusted them to help,
but now I'll let them rule you.[e]
What do you say about that?
You will be in pain
like a woman giving birth.
22 Do you know why
your clothes were torn off
and you were abused?
It was because
of your terrible sins.
23 Can you ever change
and do what's right?
Can people change the color
of their skin,
or can a leopard
remove its spots?
If so, then maybe you can change
and learn to do right.
24 I will scatter you,
just as the desert wind
blows husks from grain
tossed in the air.
25 I won't change my mind.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
You rejected me
and worshiped false gods.
* 26 You were married to me,
but you were unfaithful.
You even became a prostitute[f]
by worshiping disgusting gods
on hilltops and in fields.
27 So I'll rip off your clothes
and leave you naked and ashamed
for everyone to see.
You are doomed!
Will you ever be worthy
to worship me again?
Footnotes
- 13.4 Parah: Or “the Euphrates River.” Parah was a village about nine kilometers northeast of Jerusalem.
- 13.9 I will use Babylonia to: Or “that's how I'm going to.”
- 13.18 mother: The king's mother usually had an important position in the royal court.
- 13.18 and remove their crowns: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 13.21 You once … rule you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 13.26 prostitute: See the note at 2.20.
Jeremiah 13
Darby Translation
13 Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water.
2 And I bought a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it upon my loins.
3 And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying,
4 Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah had commanded me.
6 And it came to pass at the end of many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence which I commanded thee to hide there.
7 And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing.
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
9 Thus saith Jehovah: After this manner will I spoil 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 go after other gods, to serve them and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle which is good for nothing.
11 For as a 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 Jehovah; 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 And thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Every skin shall be filled with wine. And they will say unto thee, Do we not very well know that every skin shall be filled with wine?
13 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings that sit for David upon his throne, and the priests and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
14 And I will dash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy so as not to destroy them.
15 Hear ye, and give ear, be not lifted up; for Jehovah hath spoken.
16 Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight; and ye shall look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make [it] gross darkness.
17 And 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 Jehovah's flock is gone into captivity.
18 Say unto the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down low; for from your heads shall come down the crown of your magnificence.
19 The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open [them]; all Judah is carried away captive: it is 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 visit thee, since thou thyself hast trained them to be princes in chief over thee? Shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
22 And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, [and] thy heels have suffered violence.
23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? [Then] may ye also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.
24 And I will scatter them as stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25 This shall be thy lot, thy measured portion from me, saith Jehovah; because thou hast forgotten me, and confided in falsehood.
26 Therefore will I also turn thy skirts over thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.
27 Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy fornication, on the hills, in the fields,—thine abominations, have I seen. Woe unto thee, Jerusalem! Wilt thou not be made clean? after how long a time yet?
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