Jeremiah 13
13
Jeremiah's Linen Shorts
1The Lord told me, “Go and buy a pair of linen shorts. Wear them for a while, but don't wash them.” 2So I bought a pair of shorts and put them on.
3Then the Lord said, 4“Take off the shorts. Go to Parah#13.4 Parah: Or “the Euphrates River.” Parah was a village about nine kilometers northeast of Jerusalem. and hide the shorts in a crack between some large rocks.” 5And that's what I did.
6Some time later the Lord said, “Go back and get the shorts.” 7I went back and dug the shorts out of their hiding place, but the cloth had rotted, and the shorts were ruined.
8Then the Lord said:
9Jeremiah, I will use Babylonia to#13.9 I will use Babylonia to: Or “that's how I'm going to.” destroy the pride of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10The people of Judah are evil and stubborn. So instead of listening to me, they do whatever they want and even worship other gods. When I am finished with these people, they will be good for nothing, just like this pair of shorts. 11These shorts were tight around your waist, and that's how tightly I held onto the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted to make them famous, so that other nations would praise and honor me, but they refused to obey me.
Wine Jars
The Lord said:
12Jeremiah, tell the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel orders you to fill your wine jars with wine.”
They will answer, “Of course we fill our wine jars with wine! Why are you telling us something we already know?”
13Then say to them:
I am the Lord, and what I'm going to do will make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem appear to be full of wine. And the worst ones will be the kings of David's family and the priests and the prophets. 14Then I will smash them against each other like jars. I will have no pity on the young or the old, and they will all be destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People of Judah Will Be Taken Away
15People of Judah,
don't be too proud to listen
to what the Lord has said.
16You hope for light,
but God is sending darkness.
Evening shadows already deepen
in the hills.
So return to God
and confess your sins to him
before you trip and fall.
17If you are too proud to listen,
I will weep alone.
Tears will stream from my eyes
when the Lord's people
are taken away as prisoners.
18The Lord told me to tell you
that your king and his mother#13.18 mother: The king's mother usually had an important position in the royal court.
must surrender their thrones
and remove their crowns.#13.18 and remove their crowns: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
19The cities in the Southern Desert
are surrounded;
no one can get in or out.
Everyone in Judah
will be taken away.
20Jerusalem, you were so proud
of ruling the people of Judah.
But where are they now?
Look north, and you will see
your enemies approaching.
21You once trusted them to help,
but now I'll let them rule you.#13.21 You once … rule you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
What do you say about that?
You will be in pain
like a woman giving birth.
22Do you know why
your clothes were torn off
and you were abused?
It was because
of your terrible sins.
23Can you ever change
and do what's right?
Can people change the color
of their skin,
or can a leopard
remove its spots?
If so, then maybe you can change
and learn to do right.
24I will scatter you,
just as the desert wind
blows husks from grain
tossed in the air.
25I won't change my mind.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
You rejected me
and worshiped false gods.
* 26You were married to me,
but you were unfaithful.
You even became a prostitute#13.26 prostitute: See the note at 2.20.
by worshiping disgusting gods
on hilltops and in fields.
27So I'll rip off your clothes
and leave you naked and ashamed
for everyone to see.
You are doomed!
Will you ever be worthy
to worship me again?
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 13
13
Jeremiah’s symbolic acts
1The LORD proclaimed to me: Go and buy a linen undergarment. Wear it for a while without washing it. 2So I bought a linen undergarment, as the LORD told me, and I put it on. 3The LORD spoke to me again: 4Take the undergarment that you are wearing and go at once to the Euphrates and put it under a rock. 5So I went and buried it at the Euphrates,#13.5 Heb Perath as the LORD instructed. 6After a long time, the LORD said to me: Return to the Euphrates and dig up the undergarment that I commanded you to bury there. 7So I went to the Euphrates and I dug up the linen undergarment from the place I had buried it. But it was ruined and good for nothing.
8Then the LORD’s word came to me: 9The LORD proclaims: In the same way I will ruin the brazen pride of Judah and Jerusalem! 10Instead of listening to me, this wicked people follow their own willful hearts and pursue other gods, worshipping and serving them. They will become like this linen garment—good for nothing! 11Just as a linen undergarment clings to the body, so I created the people of Israel and Judah to cling to me, declares the LORD, to be my people for my honor, praise, and grandeur. But they wouldn’t obey.
12So deliver this word to them: The LORD the God of Israel proclaims: Every wine jug should be filled with wine. And they will answer you, “Don’t we already know that? Obviously every wine jug should be filled with wine!” 13Then you should say to them: The LORD proclaims: I’m going to fill everyone who lives in this country with wine that makes them drunk, including the kings on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all those living in Jerusalem. 14And I will shatter every one of them, even parents and children, declares the LORD. I won’t take pity; I won’t have compassion; I will show no mercy when I destroy them.
15Listen closely, don’t be arrogant,
for the LORD has spoken.
16Honor the LORD your God,
before it’s too late,
before you stumble
on the mountain paths
in the evening shadows.
Then you will hope for light,
only to find darkness and gloom.
17If you are too proud to listen,
I will go off alone
and cry my eyes out.
I will weep uncontrollably
because the LORD’s flock
will be dragged off into exile.
18Tell the king and the queen mother:
Come down from your lofty place,
because your glorious crowns
will soon be removed from your heads.
19The towns of the arid southern plain will be surrounded;
no one will get in or out;
all Judah will be taken into exile;
everyone will be led away.
20Lift up your eyes
and see who is approaching from the north.
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
your beautiful flock?
21What will you say when he appoints someone as head over you:
your defenders, your trusted allies?#13.21 Heb uncertain
Won’t pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?
22And when you ask yourself,
Why have all these things happened to me?
it is because of your many sins
that you have been stripped and violated.
23Can a Cushite change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
when doing evil comes so naturally.
24So I will scatter you#13.24 Or them like straw
that is blown away by the desert winds.
25This is the future
that I have prepared for you,
declares the LORD,
because you have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.
26I myself will pull up your skirt over your face
and expose your shame.
27I have seen your adultery and lust,
your disgusting idols and shameless prostitution
on the hills and in the fields.
How terrible for you, Jerusalem!
How long will you remain dirty?
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