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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Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 13
13
1Thus יהוה said to me, “Go and get yourself a linen girdle, and put it on your loins, but do not put it in water.”
2So I bought a girdle according to the word of יהוה, and put it on my loins.
3And the word of יהוה came to me the second time, saying,
4“Take the girdle that you have bought, which is on your loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.”
5And I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as יהוה commanded me.
6And it came to be after many days that יהוה said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the girdle which I commanded you to hide there.”
7So I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it. And there was the girdle, ruined. It was completely useless.
8“And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
9“Thus said יהוה, ‘Thus I ruin the pride of Yehuḏah and the great pride of Yerushalayim.
10This evil people, who refuse to hear My Words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and walk after other mighty ones to serve them and to bow themselves to them, is like this girdle which is completely useless.
11For as the girdle clings to the loins of a man, so I have caused all the house of Yisra’ĕl and all the house of Yehuḏah to cling to Me,’ declares יהוה, ‘to become Mine – for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for an adorning. But they did not listen.’
12“And you shall speak to them this word, ‘Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, “Every bottle is to be filled with wine.” ’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not know that every bottle should be filled with wine?’
13“Then say to them, ‘Thus said יהוה, “See, I am filling all the inhabitants of this land, and the sovereigns who sit on the throne of Dawiḏ, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim with drunkenness!
14“And I shall dash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together,” declares יהוה. “I do not spare nor pardon nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them.” ’ ”
15Listen and give ear, do not be proud, for יהוה has spoken.
16Give esteem to יהוה your Elohim before He brings darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you are looking for light. He turns it into the shadow of death, makes it gross darkness.
17And if you do not listen, my being shall weep in secret for your pride, and my eyes bitterly weep and run down with tears, because the flock of יהוה shall be taken captive.
18Say to the sovereign and to the sovereigness mother, “Humble yourselves. Sit down, for your rule, the crown of your comeliness, has come down.”
19The cities of the South shall be shut up, with no one to open them. Yehuḏah shall be taken into exile, all of it. She shall be taken into exile, completely.
20Lift up your eyes and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your fair sheep?
21What would you say when He visits you? For you have taught them to be chiefs, to be head over you. Do not pangs seize you, like a woman in labour?
22And when you say in your heart, “Why has this come upon me?” It is because of your great crookedness that your skirts have been uncovered, your heels made bare.
23Does a Kushite change his skin and a leopard its spots? You who are taught to do evil are also unable to do good!
24“So I shall scatter them like stubble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness.
25“This is your lot, your measured portion from Me,” declares יהוה, “because you have forgotten Me, and trust in falsehood.
26“I shall even draw your skirts over your face, and your shame shall be seen,
27your adulteries and your neighings, the wickedness of your whoring! I have seen your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Yerushalayim! How long before you would be made clean?”
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