Jeremiah 13

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

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

3 Then [later] Yahweh gave me another message.

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

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

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.”

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.

8 Then Yahweh gave me this message:

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.

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.

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]. “

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!’

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.’

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.’”

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

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.

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.

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.”

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)].

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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]?”