Jeremiah 13

1 [One day] Yahweh said to me, “Go and buy a linen waistcloth. Put it on, but do not wash it.”

Thus says the Lord to me: “Go, and obtain for yourself a linen waistcloth. And you shall place it over your loins, and you shall not put it into water.”

2 So I bought a [very nice] waistcloth, which is what Yahweh told me to do, and I put it on.

And so I obtained a waistcloth, according to the word of the Lord, and I placed it around my loins.

3 Then [later] Yahweh gave me another message.

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

4 He said, “Go to the small Perath Stream [near Jerusalem] and hide your waistcloth in a crevice/hole in the rocks.”

“Take the waistcloth, which you obtained, which is around your loins, and, rising up, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in an opening of the rock.”

5 So I went to the stream and did what Yahweh told me to do.

And so I went, and I hid it by the Euphrates, just as the Lord had instructed me.

6 A long time later, Yahweh said to me, “Go [back] to that stream and get the waistcloth that I told you to hide there.”

And it happened that, after many days, the Lord said to me: “Rise up, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the waistcloth, which I instructed you to hide there.”

7 So I went to the Perath Stream and dug out the waistcloth from the crevice/hole in which I had hidden it. But it was ruined, and useless.

And so I went to the Euphrates, and I dug up and took the waistcloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the waistcloth had rotted, so that it was not fit for any use.

8 Then Yahweh gave me this message:

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

9 “[What happened to your waistcloth] shows that I will destroy the things that [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah are very proud of.

“Thus says the Lord: In the same way, I will cause the arrogance of Judah and the arrogance of Jerusalem to rot.

10 Those wicked people refuse to pay attention to what I say. They stubbornly do just what they desire to do; they worship other gods. Therefore, they will become completely useless, like your waistcloth.

This most wicked people, they are not willing to listen to my words, for they walk in the depravity of their own heart, and they have gone after strange gods, so as to serve them and to adore them. And so, they will become like this waistcloth, which is not fit for any use.

11 Just like a waistcloth clings closely/tightly to a man’s waist, I wanted the people [MTY] of Israel and Judah to cling closely to me. I wanted them to be my people, people who would praise me and honor me. But they would not pay attention [to me]. “

For just as the waistcloth clings to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me the entire house of Israel and the entire house of Judah, says the Lord, so that they would be to me: a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory. But they did not listen.

12 “[So], tell this to them: ‘Yahweh, the God whom you Israeli [people worship], says that every leather wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And [when you tell that to them], they will reply, ‘(Of course/Certainly) we know [RHQ] that all wineskins should be filled with wine!’

Therefore, you shall speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Every bottle will be filled with wine.’ And they will say to you: ‘Are we ignorant that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

13 And then you must tell them, ‘No, that is not what Yahweh means. What he said means that he will cause this land to be filled with people who are drunk. [That will include all of you]—the king who sits on the throne that King David previously sat on, the priests and the prophets, and even the common people of Jerusalem.’

And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings from the stock of David who sit upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, unto inebriation.

14 [He is saying], ‘I will cause you to bash each other. [Even] parents will bash their children. I will not pity you or act mercifully toward you at all; pitying you will not prevent me from getting rid of you.’”

And I will scatter them, a man from his brother, and fathers and sons similarly, says the Lord. I will not spare them, and I will not pardon them, and I will not take pity, so as not to destroy them.”

15 [You people of Judah], pay very careful attention [DOU]. Do not be proud, because Yahweh has spoken to you.

Hear and pay close attention. Do not choose to lift yourself up, for the Lord has spoken.

16 [It is as though] he is ready to bring darkness on you and to cause you to stumble and fall [as you walk] on the hills when it is becoming dark. [So] praise/honor Yahweh your God before that happens. If you do not do that, you will look for light, but all you will see is darkness and gloom.

Give glory to the Lord your God, before darkness falls, and before your feet stumble on the darkened mountains. You will expect light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death and into utter darkness.

17 And if you [still] refuse to heed what he says, [what will happen to you because of] your being proud will cause me to cry when I am alone. My eyes will be filled with tears because [you], Yahweh’s people, [whom he takes care of like a shepherd takes care of] [MET] his flock, will [all] be [captured by your enemies and] taken to other countries.

But if you will not listen to this, then my soul will weep in secret before the face of your pride. It will weep bitterly, and my eyes will flow with tears, because the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.

18 [You people of Judah], say to the king and to his mother, “Come down from sitting on your thrones and [humbly] sit in the dust, because [your enemies] will soon snatch from your heads your glorious crowns.”

“Say to the king and to the female ruler: Humble yourselves, sit down. For the crown of your glory has gone down from your head.

19 The towns in the southern part of Judah will be surrounded by your enemies, and no one will be able to get through their lines [to rescue the people in those towns]. [You people of] Judah will be captured and taken away; you will all be (exiled/taken [to foreign countries)].

The cities of the south have been closed, and there is no one who may open them. All of Judah has been taken away into complete captivity.

20 [You leaders of Jerusalem], open your eyes and look: [The enemy armies are ready to] march down from the north. [When that happens], what will happen to [RHQ] the [people of Judah who are like] a beautiful flock of sheep, people that he gave to you to take care of?

Lift up your eyes and see, you who are arriving from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your famous cattle?

21 What will you say [RHQ] when Yahweh appoints people from other countries to rule over you, people who you [mistakenly] thought were your friends? You will [RHQ] suffer very much pain, like a woman who is about to give birth to a baby.

What will you say when he visits upon you? For you have taught them against you, and you have instructed them with your own head. Will not pains take hold of you, as with a woman in labor?

22 You will ask yourselves, “Why is this happening to us?” [I will reply that] it is because of your many sins. That is why [soldiers of the invading armies] will lift up the skirts [of your women] and rape them.

But if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ it is because of the greatness of your iniquity that your shame has been uncovered and the soles of your feet have been defiled.

23 A man from Ethiopia certainly cannot [RHQ] change the color of his [black] skin, and a leopard certainly cannot [RHQ] change its spots. Similarly, you cannot start doing what is good, because you have always done what is evil.

If the Ethiopian is able to change his skin, or the leopard is able to change his spots, then you also may be able to do well, though you have learned evil.

24 [Yahweh says], “I will scatter you like chaff that is blown away by the wind from the desert.

And I will scatter them like chaff, which is carried away by the wind in the desert.

25 That is what is certainly going to happen to you; the things that I have determined will happen to you, because you have forgotten me, and you are trusting in false [gods].

This is your lot, and this is the portion of your measure from me, says the Lord, because you have forgotten me, and you have had confidence in what is false.

26 [It is as though] I myself will pull your skirts up over your faces and cause you to be very ashamed because everyone will be able to see your sex organs.

Therefore, I have even bared your thighs before your face, and your shame has been seen.

27 I have seen that you [act like men who are eager to commit adultery]; you are like male horses that whinny when they desire [to have sex with] a female horse. I have seen that you worship disgusting idols in the fields and on the hills. [You people of] Jerusalem, terrible things will happen to you! How long will it be [RHQ] until you are acceptable to me [again]?”

For I have seen your adulteries, and your neighing for the wickedness of your fornication, and your abominations upon the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem! How much longer before you will be made clean after me?”