Jeremiah’s Linen Loincloth
1 This is what theLordsaid to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it on, but do not wash it.”
2 So I bought the loincloth as theLorddirected me, and I put it on.
3 Then theLordgave me another message:
4 “Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River.Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.”
5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as theLordhad instructed me.
6 A long time afterward theLordsaid to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.”
7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was rotting and falling apart. The loincloth was good for nothing.
8 Then I received this message from theLord:
9 “This is what theLordsays: This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem.
10 These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing!
11 As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says theLord. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me.
12 “So tell them, ‘This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: May all your jars be filled with wine.’ And they will reply, ‘Of course! Jars are made to be filled with wine!’
13 “Then tell them, ‘No, this is what theLordmeans: I will fill everyone in this land with drunkenness—from the king sitting on David’s throne to the priests and the prophets, right down to the common people of Jerusalem.
14 I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says theLord. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’”
A Warning against Pride
15 Listen and pay attention!
Do not be arrogant, for theLordhas spoken.
16 Give glory to theLordyour God
before it is too late.
Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you,
causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains.
For then, when you look for light,
you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.
17 And if you still refuse to listen,
I will weep alone because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
because theLord’s flock will be led away into exile.
18 Say to the king and his mother,
“Come down from your thrones
and sit in the dust,
for your glorious crowns
will soon be snatched from your heads.”
19 The towns of the Negev will close their gates,
and no one will be able to open them.
The people of Judah will be taken away as captives.
All will be carried into exile.
20 Open up your eyes and see
the armies marching down from the north!
Where is your flock—
your beautiful flock—
that he gave you to care for?
21 What will you say when theLordtakes the allies you have cultivated
and appoints them as your rulers?
Pangs of anguish will grip you,
like those of a woman in labor!
22 You may ask yourself,
“Why is all this happening to me?”
It is because of your many sins!
That is why you have been stripped
and raped by invading armies.
23 Can an Ethiopianchange the color of his skin?
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.
24 “I will scatter you like chaff
that is blown away by the desert winds.
25 This is your allotment,
the portion I have assigned to you,”
says theLord,
“for you have forgotten me,
putting your trust in false gods.
26 I myself will strip you
and expose you to shame.
27 I have seen your adultery and lust,
and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills.
What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem!
How long before you are pure?”
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JER/13-9a70431d99a3560f817f5e307e859617.mp3?version_id=116—