22 And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”(A)
it is because of your many sins(B)
    that your skirts have been torn off(C)
    and your body mistreated.(D)
23 Can an Ethiopian[a] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.(E)

24 “I will scatter you like chaff(F)
    driven by the desert wind.(G)
25 This is your lot,
    the portion(H) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(I) me
    and trusted in false gods.(J)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen(K)
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!(L)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.(M)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)

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[a] 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?

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 13:24 Or them