The Ruined Undergarment

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and ^(A)buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ² So I bought the undergarment in accordance with the ^(B)word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. ³ Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ⁴ “Take the undergarment that you bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to 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 the Lord had commanded me. ⁶ After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the undergarment which I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the undergarment from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the undergarment was ruined, it was completely useless.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘To the same extent I will destroy the ^(E)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ This wicked people, who ^(F)refuse to listen to My words, who ^(G)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this undergarment which is completely useless. ¹¹ For as the undergarment clings to the waist of a man, so I made the entire household of Israel and the entire household of Judah ^(H)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that they might be My people, for ^[a](I)renown, for ^(J)praise, and for glory; but they ^(K)did not listen.’