Jeremiah 13:15-27

New International Version

Threat of Captivity

¹⁵Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.^(A)
¹⁶Give glory^(B) to the Lord your God
    before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble^(C)
    on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
    but he will turn it to utter darkness
    and change it to deep gloom.^(D)
¹⁷If you do not listen,^(E)
    I will weep in secret
    because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
    overflowing with tears,^(F)
    because the Lord’s flock^(G) will be taken captive.^(H)

¹⁸Say to the king^(I) and to the queen mother,^(J)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns^(K)
    will fall from your heads.”
¹⁹The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah^(L) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

²⁰Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.^(M)
Where is the flock^(N) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
²¹What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?^(O)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?^(P)
²²And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”^(Q)—
it is because of your many sins^(R)
    that your skirts have been torn off^(S)
    and your body mistreated.^(T)
²³Can an Ethiopian^[a] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.^(U)

²⁴“I will scatter you like chaff^(V)
    driven by the desert wind.^(W)
²⁵This is your lot,
    the portion^(X) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten^(Y) me
    and trusted in false gods.^(Z)
²⁶I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen^(AA)—
²⁷your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!^(AB)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.^(AC)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”^(AD)