Jeremiah 13
13
Jeremiah’s Linen Loincloth
1This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it on, but do not wash it.” 2So I bought the loincloth as the Lord directed me, and I put it on.
3Then the Lord gave me another message: 4“Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River.#13:4 Hebrew Perath; also in 13:5, 6, 7. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.” 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as the Lord had instructed me.
6A long time afterward the Lord said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.” 7So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was rotting and falling apart. The loincloth was good for nothing.
8Then I received this message from the Lord: 9“This is what the Lord says: This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. 10These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing! 11As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me.
12“So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: May all your jars be filled with wine.’ And they will reply, ‘Of course! Jars are made to be filled with wine!’
13“Then tell them, ‘No, this is what the Lord means: I will fill everyone in this land with drunkenness—from the king sitting on David’s throne to the priests and the prophets, right down to the common people of Jerusalem. 14I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says the Lord. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’”
A Warning against Pride
15Listen and pay attention!
Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
16Give glory to the Lord your God
before it is too late.
Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you,
causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains.
For then, when you look for light,
you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.
17And if you still refuse to listen,
I will weep alone because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile.
18Say to the king and his mother,
“Come down from your thrones
and sit in the dust,
for your glorious crowns
will soon be snatched from your heads.”
19The towns of the Negev will close their gates,
and no one will be able to open them.
The people of Judah will be taken away as captives.
All will be carried into exile.
20Open up your eyes and see
the armies marching down from the north!
Where is your flock—
your beautiful flock—
that he gave you to care for?
21What will you say when the Lord takes the allies you have cultivated
and appoints them as your rulers?
Pangs of anguish will grip you,
like those of a woman in labor!
22You may ask yourself,
“Why is all this happening to me?”
It is because of your many sins!
That is why you have been stripped
and raped by invading armies.
23Can an Ethiopian#13:23 Hebrew a Cushite. change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.
24“I will scatter you like chaff
that is blown away by the desert winds.
25This is your allotment,
the portion I have assigned to you,”
says the Lord,
“for you have forgotten me,
putting your trust in false gods.
26I myself will strip you
and expose you to shame.
27I have seen your adultery and lust,
and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills.
What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem!
How long before you are pure?”
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Jeremiah 13: NLT
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Jeremiah 13
13
The Allegory of the Linen Loincloth
1Here is the command Yahweh spoke to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth # 13:1 There were two types of loincloths worn in that day. One was depicted on a Canaanite warrior and did not pass between the legs. The other (depicted in an Egyptian painting of Syrians) did pass between the legs. It is impossible to know which is implied here. The fact that it was made of linen points to the linen clothing of the priests (see Ex. 28:39; Lev. 16:4). This linen loincloth, soon to become dirty, was a fitting symbol of a corrupt priesthood. and put it around your waist, but don’t wash it.” # 13:1 Or “don’t put it in water.” New linen needs to be soaked in water in order to make it comfortable to wear as an undergarment. Wearing an unwashed linen undergarment for many days would have made Jeremiah uncomfortable and would have soiled the loincloth, yet the prophet obeyed God. 2So I obeyed Yahweh’s command, and I bought the loincloth and wore it under my tunic.
3Then, Yahweh spoke to me a second time: 4“Now, take the loincloth you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath # 13:4 Or “Parah” or possibly “Euphrates.” Parah is a stream about three miles (five kilometers) northeast of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s hometown. It is unlikely that God told Jeremiah to travel to the Euphrates since a round trip would have been a seven-hundred-mile (over one-thousand-kilometer) journey north through enemy territory. The Hebrew word for “Parah” is virtually identical with that for “Euphrates” and so this could possibly be understood as symbolic of the Euphrates. However, there are scholars who believe that, indeed, Jeremiah made the round trip to Babylon twice. and cover it up there in a crevice of the rock.” 5So, I obeyed Yahweh and went and buried it at Perath. 6Then, after a long time, Yahweh spoke to me again, saying, “Go at once to Perath and dig up the loincloth that I commanded you to bury there.” 7So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth from where I had buried it, and I found it ruined. It was worthless.
8Then Yahweh spoke these words to me: 9“Even so, like a soiled undergarment, # 13:9 The rotting linen loincloth was a picture of what God would do in humbling the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Pride is a rotten thing that will ruin even the best of people. The pride of Israel was her wealth and strength. I will ruin all the arrogant pride of Judah and Jerusalem, says Yahweh. 10These evil ones refuse to hear my words, they stubbornly follow the inclinations of their own hearts, and they follow other gods to serve and worship them. So then, they will all become like this worthless, rotten undergarment. 11For as the loincloth clings snugly to the loins of a man, so I brought close to me all the people of Israel and Judah, says Yahweh. I wanted them to cling to me as my people and bring honor to me and proclaim my glory. But they would not obey.”
The Allegory of the Wine Jars
12“Speak this word to them: ‘Here is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: Every wine jar should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Of course, everyone knows that wine jars should be filled with wine. Do you think we don’t know that?’ 13then answer them, ‘Yahweh says: I am going to fill all the people of this land with a drunken stupor, including the kings of David’s descendants, the unfaithful priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14And I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, says Yahweh. I will show no pity or compassion, and my mercy will not stop me from destroying them.’ ”
Jeremiah Warns against Pride
15Hear this and listen well.
Forsake your pride,
for Yahweh has spoken.
16Give all glory to Yahweh your God
before he brings darkness,
and you stumble and fall
on mountain paths in the dusk of twilight.
Give him glory before he turns the light you’re longing for # 13:16 That is, the false hope of help coming from Egypt.
into a death shadow and deep gloom.
17If you will not listen,
I will weep bitterly in secret
from the depths of my soul
because of your stubborn pride.
My eyes gush with copious tears running down my face,
because the flock of Yahweh # 13:17 Jeremiah is known as the Weeping Prophet, being moved by compassion to weep over the fate of God’s people. Even though they had sinned grievously, Jeremiah still saw the people as “the flock of Yahweh.” is taken captive.
18Say to King Jehoiachin and his mother, # 13:18 The king’s mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 24:8). This prophecy may have taken place in 597 BC, on the eve of the fall of Jerusalem. Jehoiachin and his family were taken as captives to Babylon after a short reign of only three months.
“Come down from your high thrones
and take a humble seat,
for your glorious crown has tumbled off your heads.”
19The cities in southern Judah are under siege,
and no one can free them.
All the people of Judah will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
Jerusalem Is like a Shameless Woman
20Lift up your eyes and see
the Babylonians coming from the north.
What will become of the cities of Judah?
Like a beautiful flock of lambs,
they were entrusted to your care.
21What will you say when those you courted as allies
are appointed as your masters? # 13:21 The Hebrew text of this sentence is uncertain.
You will be gripped with pain
as a woman giving birth.
22And when you ask yourself,
“Why are these things happening to me?”—
it is because your sin # 13:22 The great sin is unbelief and unfaithfulness (see Heb. 11:6). was so enormous
that your skirts are lifted up
and your private parts exposed. # 13:22 The Hebrew word chamas means “to suffer violence.” It may be a reference to a sexual assault. See Lam. 1:8; Ezek. 16:37–39; Hos. 2:3, 10; Nah. 3:5.
23Can the Ethiopian change the color of his skin,
or the leopard remove his spots?
Of course not. And neither can you change
from being schooled to do evil to doing good.
24“This is why I will scatter you # 13:24 Or “them.” like dust # 13:24 Or “chaff.” See Pss. 1:4; 83:13.
driven by the desert wind.
25You have it coming,
and I have precisely measured your punishment,”
declares Yahweh,
“because you have trusted in lies
and forgotten me entirely.
26I, in turn, will lift your skirts over your face,
and everyone will see your nakedness.
27Woe to you, Jerusalem!
I have seen your adulteries,
your lustful neighing,
your shameless prostitution,
your vile acts on the hills and in the fields.
How long will you continue being unclean?”
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