Jeremiah 13

1 Thus saith Jehovah unto me, Go, and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.2 So 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 cleft of the rock.5 So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah commanded me.6 And it came to pass after 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 Then I went to the 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.8 Then the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,9 Thus saith Jehovah, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.10 This evil people, that refuse to hear my words, that walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is profitable 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 Jehovah; that they may 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 Jehovah, the 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 Jehovah, 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 Jehovah: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them.15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud; for Jehovah hath spoken.16 Give glory to Jehovah 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 for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah’s flock is taken captive.18 Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even the crown of your glory.19 The cities of the South are shut up, and there is none to open them: Judah is carried away captive, all of it; 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 set over thee as head those whom thou hast thyself taught to be friends to thee? shall not sorrows take hold of thee, as of a woman in travail?22 And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore are these things come upon me? for the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels suffer violence.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 measured unto thee from me, saith Jehovah; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.26 Therefore will I also uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and thy shame shall appear.27 I have seen thine abominations, even thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, on the hills in the field. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean; how long shall it yet be?

JEREMIAH 13

Jeremiah's Linen Shorts

1 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 Paraht 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 tot 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 mothert
must surrender their thrones
and remove their crowns.t

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.t
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 prostitutet
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?