JeremiahChapter 13
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1This is what the LORD said to me: "Go and buy a linen loincloth. Put it around your waist, but do not let it get wet."a 2So I bought a loincloth as the LORD had told me, and I put it around my waist. 3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: 4"Take the loincloth you bought, the one you are wearing. Go right away to Perath. Hide it there in a crack in the rocks."b 5So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD had commanded me. 6Many days later the LORD said to me, "Get up and go to Perath. Get the loincloth I told you to hide there." 7So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth. I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined. It was no good at all. 8Then 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 of Jerusalem. 10These evil people refuse to listen to my words. They follow their own stubborn hearts. They go after other gods to serve and worship them. They will be like this loincloth. They will be no good at all. 11A loincloth clings to a man's waist. In the same way, I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted them to bring me fame and praise and glory. But they did not listen. 12So tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Every wine jar should be filled with wine.' And they will answer you, 'Don't we know that every wine jar should be filled with wine?' 13Then tell them that this is what the LORD says: 'I am going to fill everyone who lives in this land until they are drunk. I will fill the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem. 14I will smash them against one another, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will not let any pity or mercy or kindness stop me from destroying them.'" 15Listen and pay attention.
Do not be proud,
for the LORD has spoken. 16Give glory to the LORD your God
before he brings darkness,
before your feet trip
on the mountains as night falls.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it into deep gloom and thick darkness. 17But if you will not listen,
I will weep in secret because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
because the LORD's flock has been taken away as captives. 18Say to the king and to the queen mother,
"Sit down in a low place,
for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads." 19The cities of the Negev are shut tight,
and no one can open them.
All Judah has been carried away into exile.
All of them have been taken captive. 20Look up and see the people coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given to you,
the sheep you were proud of? 21What will you say when he puts over you
the friends you yourself trained?
Won't pain grab hold of you
like a woman giving birth? 22And if you ask yourself,
"Why has this happened to me?"
it is because your sins are so great.
That is why your skirts have been torn off
and your body has been exposed. 23Can a man from Ethiopia change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard change its spots?
In the same way, you cannot do good,
because you are used to doing evil. 24"I will scatter you like straw
blown away by the desert wind. 25This is what will happen to you.
It is the share I have measured out for you," declares the LORD.
"For you have forgotten me
and trusted in lies. 26So I will pull your skirts up over your face,
so that your shame will be seen. 27I have seen your disgusting acts:
your adulteries, your lustful neighing,
and your shameless prostitution
on the hills and in the fields.
How terrible for you, Jerusalem!
How long will you stay unclean?"