Jeremiah 13

1 Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water.

This is what the Lord said to me: Go and get yourself a linen band and put it round you and do not put it in water.

2 And I bought a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it upon my loins.

So, as the Lord said, I got a band for a price and put it round my body.

3 And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying,

4 Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

Take the band which you got for a price, which is round your body, and go to Parah and put it in a secret place there in a hole of the rock.

5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah had commanded me.

So I went and put it in a secret place by Parah, as the Lord had said to me.

6 And it came to pass at the end of many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence which I commanded thee to hide there.

Then after a long time, the Lord said to me, Up! go to Parah and get the band which I gave you orders to put there.

7 And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing.

So I went to Parah and, uncovering the hole, took the band from the place where I had put it away: and the band was damaged and of no use for anything.

8 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

9 Thus saith Jehovah: After this manner will I spoil the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

The Lord has said, In this way I will do damage to the pride of Judah and to the great pride of Jerusalem.

10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and go after other gods, to serve them and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle which is good for nothing.

These evil people who say they will not give ear to my words, who go on in the pride of their hearts and have become servants and worshippers of other gods, will become like this band which is of no use for anything.

11 For as a 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 Jehovah; 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.

For as a band goes tightly round a man's body, so I made all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah tightly united to me; so that they might be a people for me and a name and a praise and a glory: but they would not give ear.

12 And thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Every skin shall be filled with wine. And they will say unto thee, Do we not very well know that every skin shall be filled with wine?

So you are to say this word to them: This is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel: Every skin bottle will be full of wine; and they will say to you, Is it not quite clear to us that every skin bottle will be full of wine?

13 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings that sit for David upon his throne, and the priests and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

Then you are to say to them, The Lord has said, I will make all the people of this land, even the kings seated on David's seat, and the priests and the prophets and all the people of Jerusalem, overcome with strong drink.

14 And I will dash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy so as not to destroy them.

I will have them smashed against one another, fathers and sons together, says the Lord: I will have no pity or mercy, I will have no feeling for them to keep me from giving them to destruction.

15 Hear ye, and give ear, be not lifted up; for Jehovah hath spoken.

Give ear and let your ears be open; be not lifted up: for these are the words of the Lord.

16 Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight; and ye shall look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make [it] gross darkness.

Give glory to the Lord your God, before he makes it dark, and before your feet are slipping on the dark mountains, and, while you are looking for a light, he makes it into deep dark, into black night.

17 And 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 Jehovah's flock is gone into captivity.

But if you do not give ear to it, my soul will be weeping in secret for your pride; my eye will be weeping bitterly, streaming with water, because the Lord's flock has been taken away as prisoners.

18 Say unto the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down low; for from your heads shall come down the crown of your magnificence.

Say to the king and to the queen-mother, Make yourselves low, be seated on the earth: for the crown of your glory has come down from your heads.

19 The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open [them]; all Judah is carried away captive: it is wholly carried away captive.

The towns of the south are shut up, and there is no one to make them open: Judah is taken away as prisoners; all Judah is taken away as prisoners.

20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

Let your eyes be lifted up (O Jerusalem), and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock which was given to you, your beautiful flock?

21 What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee, since thou thyself hast trained them to be princes in chief over thee? Shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

What will you say when he puts over you those whom you yourself have made your friends? will not pains take you like a woman in childbirth?

22 And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, [and] thy heels have suffered violence.

And if you say in your heart, Why have these things come on me? because of the number of your sins, your skirts have been uncovered and violent punishment overtakes you.

23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? [Then] may ye also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.

Is it possible for the skin of the Ethiopian to be changed, or the markings on the leopard? Then it might be possible for you to do good, who have been trained to do evil.

24 And I will scatter them as stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.

So I will send them in all directions, as dry grass is taken away by the wind of the waste land.

25 This shall be thy lot, thy measured portion from me, saith Jehovah; because thou hast forgotten me, and confided in falsehood.

This is your fate, the part measured out to you by me, says the Lord, because you have put me out of your memory and put your faith in what is false.

26 Therefore will I also turn thy skirts over thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.

So I will have your skirts uncovered before your face, in order that your shame may be seen.

27 Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy fornication, on the hills, in the fields, — thine abominations, have I seen. Woe unto thee, Jerusalem! Wilt thou not be made clean? after how long a time yet?

I have seen your disgusting acts, even your false behaviour and your cries of desire and your loose ways on the hills in the field. Unhappy are you, O Jerusalem, you have no desire to be made clean; how long will you be in turning back to me?