Jeremiah 13

The Ruined Loincloth

1Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and ^aput it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4“Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, ^bgo to the Euphrates and hide it there in ^ca cleft of the rock.” 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there ^dthe loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took ^ethe loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was ^fspoiled; it was ^ggood for nothing.

8Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9“Thus says the Lord: ^hEven so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great ⁱpride of Jerusalem. 10This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, ^jwho stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is ^kgood for nothing. 11For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, ^lthat they might be for me a people, ^ma name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

12“You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that ⁿevery jar will be filled with wine?’ 13Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^oBehold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: ^pthe kings who sit on David’s throne, ^qthe priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14And I will ^rdash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
16 ^sGive glory to the Lord your God
^tbefore he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the twilight mountains,
and ^uwhile you look for light
he turns it into gloom
and makes it ^vdeep darkness.
17But if you will not listen,
^wmy soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
18 Say to ^xthe king and ^ythe queen mother:
“Take a lowly seat,
for ^zyour beautiful crown
has come down from your head.”
19 ^aaThe cities of the Negeb are shut up,
with none to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
wholly taken into exile.
20 “Lift up your eyes ^aband see
those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
your beautiful flock?
21What will you say when they set as head over you
those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?
^acWill not pangs take hold of you
like those of a woman in labor?
22And if you say in your heart,
^ad‘Why have these things come upon me?’
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
that ^aeyour skirts are lifted up
and you suffer violence.
23 ^afCan the Ethiopian change his skin
or ^agthe leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
24I will scatter you ▼

▼Hebrew them

^ailike chaff
driven by the wind from the desert.
25 ^ajThis is your lot,
the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,
because ^akyou have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.
26 ^alI myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
and your shame will be seen.
27I have seen ^amyour abominations,
your adulteries and ^anneighings, your lewd whorings,
^aoon the hills in the field.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will it be ^apbefore you are made clean?”