Jer 13, Jer 28, Jer 38 | ESV | STEP | Thus says the Lord to me, Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist , and do not dip it in water .

1 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and ^aput it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And 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.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And 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.” 7 Then 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.

8 Then 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. 10 This 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. 11 For 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?’ 13 Then 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. 14 And 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.
17 But 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?
21 What 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?
22 And 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.
24 I 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.
27 I 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?”

Jeremiah 28

Hananiah the False Prophet

1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of ^aqZedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of ^arAzzur, the prophet from ^asGibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^atI have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 ^auWithin ^avtwo years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place ^awJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, ^axfor I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^ay“Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 ^azThe prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 ^baAs for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the ^bbyoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ^bc“Thus says the Lord: ^bdEven so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of ^beall the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Sometime after the prophet ^bfHananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations ^bgan iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^bhand they shall serve him, ^bifor I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, ^bjthe Lord has not sent you, ^bkand you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, ^blbecause you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah 38

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^bmJucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^bnPashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^boHe who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^bpbut he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^bqThis city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, ^br“Let this man be put to death, ^bsfor he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^btthe welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^bufor the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah ^bvand cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in ^bwthe court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^bxby ropes. ^byAnd there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^bzJeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

7 When ^caEbed-melech ^cbthe Ethiopian, ^cca eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^cdin the Benjamin Gate— 8 ^ceEbed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of ^cfhunger, ^cgfor there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded ^chEbed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So ^ciEbed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern ^cjby ropes. 12 Then ^ckEbed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^clthe ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^cmropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ^cncourt of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore ^cosecretly to Jeremiah, ^cp“As the Lord lives, ^cqwho made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of ^crthese men who seek your life.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^csIf you will surrender to ^ctthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^cuthen your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to ^cvthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^cwthen this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^cxand they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^cywho have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^czand it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to ^dasurrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

^db“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and ^dcyour sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If ^ddthe officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ^de‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained ^dfin the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.