13 The Lord said to me, ‘Go and buy a linen belt. [ a ] Tie it around your body. But do not put it into water.’ 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord had told me to do. I tied it around me.
3 The Lord spoke to me again. 4 He said, ‘Take the belt that you bought and you are now wearing. Take it now to Perath. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.’ 5 So I went to Perath. I hid it there, as the Lord had commanded me to do. [ b ]
6 Many days after that, the Lord said to me, ‘Now go to Perath again. Get the belt that I told you to hide there.’ 7 So I went back to Perath. I dug out the belt from the place where I had hidden it. But it had become spoiled. I could not use it any more.
8 Then the Lord said to me, 9 ‘I, the Lord , tell you this: See what happened to your belt. Now I will destroy everything that the people of Judah and Jerusalem are proud of. 10 Those wicked people refuse to listen to my words. They do whatever they want to do. They are too proud to change. They serve other gods and they worship them. Now they will become as useless as this linen belt. 11 I tell you this: My people should have been like a belt for me. I held all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah very near to me. I chose them to be my special people. They should have respected me and given me honour so that people would praise me. But they refused to obey me.
12 You must tell them, “The Lord , Israel's God, says this: People make wine bottles so that they can fill them with wine.” They may answer, “We know that is why people make wine bottles. Everyone knows that!” 13 Then tell them, “Now I will fill all the people who live in this land. I will fill the kings from David's family, the prophets, the priests and the people who live in Jerusalem. Yes, I will fill them all with so much wine that they become drunk! 14 I will knock them against each other, so that they break like bottles. I will punish everyone, parents and their children. I will not be sorry for them and I will not be kind to them. I will destroy them, and nothing can stop me.” That is what the Lord says.’
15 ‘Listen carefully to me.
Do not be too proud to listen!
The Lord has spoken to you.
16 Give honour to the Lord your God,
before it is too late.
Do it before he makes everywhere become dark.
Then you will fall down,
like someone who walks on the mountains at night.
You may hope for light to come,
but God will make it completely dark. [ c ]
17 If you refuse to listen to God's message,
I will hide myself and I will weep.
Because you are so proud,
tears will pour from my eyes.
I will cry because the Lord has sent his own people away
as prisoners to a foreign land.
18 Tell the king and his mother,
“Come down from your thrones.
Your beautiful crowns will soon fall from your heads.” [ d ]
19 The cities in the south of Judah will keep their gates shut.
Nobody will go in or out of the cities.
Enemies will take the people of Judah away as prisoners.
They will take them all into exile.
20 Leaders of Jerusalem, look up!
See the enemy that is coming from the north.
What has happened to your people?
You were proud of them
and you should have taken care of them.
You are like shepherds who have lost their sheep.
21 The Lord will choose other people to rule over you.
They are people that you wanted to be your friends,
but now they will have power over you.
So what will you say about that?
You will be afraid and in much pain,
like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.
22 You may ask,
“Why are these things happening to me?”
It is because of your many terrible sins.
Like an adulteress, they have torn off your dress
to make you ashamed.
23 You have done evil things for a long time.
So you cannot now start to do good things.
Can anyone change the colour of his skin?
Can a leopard remove the marks on its body?
No! And you cannot change yourselves either.’
24 The Lord says,
‘I will blow you away,
as a hot desert wind blows away straw.
25 That is how I have decided to punish you.
It is what you deserve
because you have forgotten me.
You have trusted in false gods.
26 So I will cause you to be very ashamed,
like a woman whose dress they have removed.
27 People of Jerusalem,
you are in terrible trouble!
I have seen the disgusting things that you do.
You are like a woman who has not been faithful to her husband.
Like a prostitute, you look for other gods to serve.
You cannot control yourselves,
as you do disgusting things on the hills and in the fields.
Will you never be clean and pure again?’ [ e ]
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Jeremiah, go and buy a linen loincloth. [ a ] Then put it around your waist. Don’t let it get wet.”
2 So I bought a linen loincloth, just as the Lord told me to do, and I put it around my waist. 3 Then the message from the Lord came to me a second time. 4 This was the message: “Jeremiah, take the loincloth you bought and are wearing, and go to Perath. [ b ] Hide the loincloth there in a crack in the rocks.”
5 So I went to Perath and hid the loincloth there, just as the Lord told me to do. 6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Now, Jeremiah, go to Perath. Get the loincloth that I told you to hide there.”
7 So I went to Perath and dug the loincloth out of the crack in the rocks where I had hidden it. But now I could not wear the loincloth, because it was ruined. It was not good for anything.
8 Then the message from the Lord came to me. 9 This is what the Lord said: “The loincloth is ruined and not good for anything. In the same way, I will ruin the proud people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 I will ruin them because they refuse to listen to my messages. They are stubborn and do only what they want to do. They follow and worship other gods. They will be like this linen loincloth. They will be ruined and not good for anything. 11 A loincloth is wrapped tightly around a man’s waist. In the same way, I wrapped the family of Israel and the family of Judah around me.” This message is from the Lord . “I did that so that they would be my people and bring me fame, praise, and honor. But my people did not listen to me.”
12 “Jeremiah, say to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ They will laugh and say to you, ‘Of course, we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ 13 Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will make everyone who lives in this land helpless, like a drunken man. I am talking about the kings who sit on David’s throne. I am also talking about the priests, the prophets, and all the people who live in Jerusalem. 14 I will make them stumble and fall against each other, even the fathers and sons.’ This message is from the Lord . ‘I will not feel sorry or have pity for them. I will not allow compassion to stop me from destroying the people of Judah.’”
15 Listen and pay attention.
The Lord has spoken to you.
Do not be proud.
16 Honor the Lord your God.
Praise him or he will bring darkness.
Praise him before you fall on the dark hills.
You people of Judah are hoping for light,
but the Lord will turn the light into thick darkness.
He will change it into the deepest gloom.
17 If you people of Judah don’t listen to him,
I will hide and cry.
Your pride will cause me to cry.
I will cry very hard.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
because the Lord ’s flock [ c ] will be captured.
18 Tell these things to the king and his wife,
“Come down from your thrones.
Your beautiful crowns have fallen from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev are locked.
No one can open them.
All the people of Judah have been taken away as captives.
They were carried away as prisoners.
20 Jerusalem, look!
The enemy is coming from the north [ d ] !
Where is the flock [ e ] you were once in charge of?
That beautiful flock is gone now.
21 I will let your enemies become your rulers—
people you once trusted with your secrets.
What will you say then?
Surely you will feel great pain,
like a woman giving birth.
22 You might ask yourself,
“Why has this bad thing happened to me?”
It happened because of your many sins.
Because of your sins, your skirt was torn off,
and your sandals were taken away.
They did this to embarrass you.
23 A black man cannot change the color of his skin,
and a leopard cannot change its spots.
In the same way, Jerusalem, you cannot change and do good.
You always do bad things.
24 “I will force you to leave your homes.
You will run in all directions.
You will be like chaff blown away by the desert wind.
25 This is what will happen to you.
This is your part in my plans.”
This message is from the Lord .
“Why will this happen?
Because you forgot me.
You trusted false gods.
26 Jerusalem, I will pull your skirt up over your face.
Everyone will see you,
and you will be ashamed.
27 I saw the terrible things you did. [ f ]
I saw you laughing and having sex with your lovers.
I know about your plans to be like a prostitute.
I have seen you on the hills and in the fields.
It will be very bad for you, Jerusalem.
How long will you continue doing your dirty sins?”
13 Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord , and put it on my loins.
3 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,
4 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6 And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.
7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
8 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 Thus saith the Lord , After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.
11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord ; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?
13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord , Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord : I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord 's flock is carried away captive.
18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord ; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.
27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and ( A ) buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the undergarment in accordance with the ( B ) word of the Lord , and put it around my waist. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the undergarment that you bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the ( C ) Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, ( D ) as the Lord had commanded me. 6 After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the undergarment which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the undergarment from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the undergarment was ruined, it was completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘To the same extent I will destroy the ( E ) pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This wicked people, who ( F ) refuse to listen to My words, who ( G ) walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this undergarment which is completely useless. 11 For as the undergarment clings to the waist of a man, so I made the entire household of Israel and the entire household of Judah ( H ) cling to Me,’ declares the Lord , ‘so that they might be My people, for [ a ] ( I ) renown, for ( J ) praise, and for glory; but they ( K ) did not listen.’
12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them. ‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel says: “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with ( L ) drunkenness! 14 Then I will ( M ) smash them against each other, both the ( N ) fathers and the sons together,” declares the Lord . “I will ( O ) not have compassion nor be troubled nor take pity so as to keep from destroying them.”’”
15 Listen and pay attention, do not be ( P ) haughty;
For the Lord has spoken.
16 ( Q ) Give glory to the Lord your God
Before He brings ( R ) darkness
And before your ( S ) feet stumble
On the mountains in the dark,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into ( T ) gloom,
And turns it into thick darkness.
17 But ( U ) if you do not listen to it,
My soul will ( V ) weep in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will shed
And stream down tears,
Because the ( W ) flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
18 Say to the ( X ) king and the queen mother,
“ ( Y ) Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful ( Z ) crown
Has come down from your head.”
19 The ( AA ) cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them ;
All ( AB ) Judah has been taken into exile,
Wholly taken into exile.
20 “Raise your eyes and see
Those coming ( AC ) from the north.
Where is the ( AD ) flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former ( AE ) companions to be head over you?
Will ( AF ) sharp pains not take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22 If you ( AG ) say in your heart,
‘ ( AH ) Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the ( AI ) magnitude of your wrongdoing
( AJ ) Your skirts have been removed
And your [ b ] heels have suffered violence.
23 ( AK ) Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you as well can ( AL ) do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 Therefore I will ( AM ) scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert ( AN ) wind.
25 This is your ( AO ) lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares the Lord ,
“Because you have ( AP ) forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood.
26 So I Myself have ( AQ ) stripped your skirts off over your face,
So that your shame will be seen.
27 As for your ( AR ) adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The ( AS ) outrageous sin of your prostitution
On the ( AT ) hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
( AU ) How long will you remain unclean?”
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: ( A ) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath [ a ] ( B ) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me. ( C )
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride ( D ) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen ( E ) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts ( F ) and go after other gods ( G ) to serve and worship them, ( H ) will be like this belt—completely useless! ( I ) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord , ‘to be my people for my renown ( J ) and praise and honor. ( K ) But they have not listened.’ ( L )
12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness ( M ) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord . I will allow no pity ( N ) or mercy or compassion ( O ) to keep me from destroying ( P ) them.’”
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken. ( Q )
16 Give glory ( R ) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble ( S )
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom. ( T )
17 If you do not listen, ( U )
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears, ( V )
because the Lord ’s flock ( W ) will be taken captive. ( X )
18 Say to the king ( Y ) and to the queen mother, ( Z )
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns ( AA )
will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah ( AB ) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
20 Look up and see
those who are coming from the north. ( AC )
Where is the flock ( AD ) that was entrusted to you,
the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies? ( AE )
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor? ( AF )
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?” ( AG ) —
it is because of your many sins ( AH )
that your skirts have been torn off ( AI )
and your body mistreated. ( AJ )
23 Can an Ethiopian [ b ] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil. ( AK )
24 “I will scatter you like chaff ( AL )
driven by the desert wind. ( AM )
25 This is your lot,
the portion ( AN ) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord ,
“because you have forgotten ( AO ) me
and trusted in false gods. ( AP )
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen ( AQ ) —
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution! ( AR )
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields. ( AS )
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?” ( AT )
