Jeremiah 13
13
Linen Underwear
1This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment#Ex 39:27–29; Lv 16:4; Ezk 44:17–18 and put it on.#13:1 Lit around your waist But do not put it in water.” 2So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.
3Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4“Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,#13:4 Lit wearing around your waist and go at once to the Euphrates#13:4–7 Perhaps a place near Anathoth with the same spelling as the river and hide it in a rocky crevice.”#Jr 51:63 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” 7So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined — of no use at all.
8Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9“This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.#Lv 26:19 10These evil people, who refuse to listen to me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,#Jr 16:12 and who have followed other gods to serve and bow in worship — they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. 11Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to me”#Dt 4:3–4; 10:20 — this is the Lord’s declaration — “so that they might be my people for my fame, praise, and glory,#Dt 26:19; Ezk 16:8–14 but they would not obey.
The Wine Jars
12“Say this to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine.’ Then they will respond to you, ‘Don’t we know that every jar should be filled with wine?’ 13And you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land — the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem — with drunkenness. 14I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike — this is the Lord’s declaration. I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep me from destroying them.’”#Lm 2:2,17,21; 3:43
The Lord’s Warning
15Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
16Give glory to the Lord your God#Jos 7:19; 1Sm 6:5; Ps 29:1–2
before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at dusk.
You wait for light,
but he brings darkest gloom#13:16 Or brings a shadow of death
and makes total darkness.
17But if you will not listen,
my innermost being will weep in secret
because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
for the Lord’s flock#Ps 80:1; 95:7; Jr 23:1–4 has been taken captive.
18Say to the king and the queen mother:#2Kg 24:12; Jr 22:26
Take a humble seat,
for your glorious crowns
have fallen from your heads.
19The cities of the Negev are under siege;
no one can help them.
All of Judah has been taken into exile,
taken completely into exile.
20Look up and see
those coming from the north.#Jr 1:13–15; 4:6; 10:22
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
The Destiny of Jerusalem
21What will you say when he appoints
close friends as leaders over you,
ones you yourself trained?
Won’t labor pains seize you,#Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 21:3; 42:14; Jr 4:31; 6:24; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9–10; 1Th 5:3
as they do a woman in labor?
22And when you ask yourself,
“Why have these things happened to me?”
it is because of your great guilt#Jr 5:6; 30:15
that your skirts have been stripped off,#Ezk 16:37–39; Hs 2:3,10; Nah 3:5
your body exposed.#13:22 Lit your heels have suffered violence
23Can the Cushite change his skin,
or a leopard his spots?
If so, you might be able to do what is good,#Ec 5:1; Jr 4:22; Hs 5:4
you who are instructed in evil.
24I will scatter you#13:24 Lit them like drifting chaff#Jb 13:25; Ps 83:13; Is 40:24
before the desert wind.
25This is your lot,
what I have decreed for you —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
because you have forgotten me#Ps 106:21; Jr 2:32; 18:15; Ezk 22:12; 23:35; Hs 8:14
and trusted in lies.#Jr 3:23
26I will pull your skirts up over your face
so that your shame might be seen.#Is 47:2–3; Jr 49:10; Nah 3:5
27Your adulteries and your lustful neighing,#Jr 2:23–24; 5:8
your depraved prostitution
on the hills, in the fields —
I have seen your abhorrent acts.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean —
for how long yet?#Hs 8:5
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Jeremiah 13: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Jeremiah 13
13
Jeremiah’s Linen Belt
1This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt. Then put it around your waist. Don’t let the belt get wet.”
2So I bought a linen belt, just as the Lord told me. And I put it around my waist. 3Then the Lord spoke his word to me a second time: 4“Take the belt you bought and are wearing. Go to Perath. Hide the belt there in a crack in the rocks.” 5So I went to Perath and hid the belt there, just as the Lord told me.
6Many days later the Lord said to me, “Now go to Perath. Get the belt that I told you to hide there.” 7So I went to Perath and dug up the belt. I took it from where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined. It was good for nothing.
8Then the Lord spoke his word to me. 9This is what the Lord said: “In the same way I will ruin the pride of the people of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10These evil people refuse to listen to my warnings. They stubbornly do only what they want to do. They follow other gods to serve and worship them. So they will become like this linen belt. They will be good for nothing. 11A belt is wrapped tightly around a man’s waist. In the same way I wrapped the families of Israel and Judah around me,” says the Lord. “I did that so they would be my people. Then they would bring fame, praise and honor to me. But my people would not listen to me.
Warnings About Leather Wine Bags
12“Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: All leather bags for holding wine should be filled with wine.’ People will say to you: ‘Of course, we know all wine bags should be filled with wine.’ 13Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will make everyone in this land like a drunken man. I am talking about the kings who sit on David’s throne. I am also talking about the priests and the prophets. I am talking about all the people who live in Jerusalem. 14I will make the people of Judah stumble and fall into one another. Fathers and sons will fall into one another, says the Lord. I will not feel sorry or have pity for them. My mercy will not stop me from destroying them!’”
Threat of Slavery
15Listen and pay attention.
Don’t be too proud.
The Lord has spoken to you.
16Honor the Lord your God.
Give him glory before he brings darkness.
Praise him before you fall
on the dark hills.
You hope for light.
But the Lord will turn it into thick darkness.
He will change it into deep gloom.
17If you don’t listen to the Lord,
I will cry secretly.
Your pride will cause me to cry.
I will cry painfully.
My eyes will overflow with tears.
This is because the Lord’s people will be captured.
18Tell this to the king and queen mother:
“Come down from your thrones.
Your beautiful crowns
have fallen from your heads.”
19The cities in the desert of southern Judah are shut up.
No one can open them.
All Judah will be taken as captives to a foreign land.
They will be carried away completely.
20Jerusalem, look up and see.
Someone comes from the north.
Where is the flock God gave to you to care for?
It is the flock you bragged about.
21What will you say when they appoint as your heads
those you had thought were your friends?
Won’t you have much pain and trouble?
Your pain will be like that of a woman having a baby.
22You might ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”
It happened because of your many sins.
Because of your sins, your skirt was torn off
and your body has been treated badly.
23A black man from Cush cannot change the color of his skin.
A leopard cannot change his spots.
In the same way, Jerusalem, you cannot change and do good.
You always do evil.
24“I will scatter you like chaff that is blown away by the desert wind.
25This is what will happen to you.
This is your part in my plans,” says the Lord.
“This will happen because you forgot me.
You have trusted in false gods.
26Jerusalem, I will pull your skirts up over your face.
Everyone will see you, and you will be ashamed.
27I have seen the terrible things you have done.
I know your acts of adultery and your snorting.
I have seen you acting like a prostitute.
I have seen your hated acts
on the hills and in the fields.
How terrible it will be for you, Jerusalem.
How long will you continue being unclean?”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.