Jeremiah 13-15

New International Version

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” ²So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

³Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:^(A) ⁴“Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath^[a]^(B) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” ⁵So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.^(C)

⁶Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” ⁷So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

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^(D) of Jerusalem. ¹⁰These wicked people, who refuse to listen^(E) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts^(F) and go after other gods^(G) to serve and worship them,^(H) will be like this belt—completely useless!^(I) ¹¹For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown^(J) and praise and honor.^(K) But they have not listened.’^(L)

Wineskins

¹²“Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ ¹³then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness^(M) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. ¹⁴I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity^(N) or mercy or compassion^(O) to keep me from destroying^(P) them.’”

Threat of Captivity

¹⁵Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.^(Q)
¹⁶Give glory^(R) to the Lord your God
    before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble^(S)
    on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
    but he will turn it to utter darkness
    and change it to deep gloom.^(T)
¹⁷If you do not listen,^(U)
    I will weep in secret
    because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
    overflowing with tears,^(V)
    because the Lord’s flock^(W) will be taken captive.^(X)

¹⁸Say to the king^(Y) and to the queen mother,^(Z)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns^(AA)
    will fall from your heads.”
¹⁹The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah^(AB) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

²⁰Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.^(AC)
Where is the flock^(AD) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
²¹What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?^(AE)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?^(AF)
²²And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”^(AG)—
it is because of your many sins^(AH)
    that your skirts have been torn off^(AI)
    and your body mistreated.^(AJ)
²³Can an Ethiopian^[b] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.^(AK)

²⁴“I will scatter you like chaff^(AL)
    driven by the desert wind.^(AM)
²⁵This is your lot,
    the portion^(AN) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten^(AO) me
    and trusted in false gods.^(AP)
²⁶I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen^(AQ)—
²⁷your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!^(AR)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.^(AS)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”^(AT)

Drought, Famine, Sword

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:^(AU)

²“Judah mourns,^(AV)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
³The nobles send their servants for water;
    they go to the cisterns
    but find no water.^(AW)
They return with their jars unfilled;
    dismayed and despairing,
    they cover their heads.^(AX)
⁴The ground is cracked
    because there is no rain in the land;^(AY)
the farmers are dismayed
    and cover their heads.
⁵Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.^(AZ)
⁶Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights^(BA)
    and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
    for lack of food.”^(BB)

⁷Although our sins testify^(BC) against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.^(BD)
For we have often rebelled;^(BE)
    we have sinned^(BF) against you.
⁸You who are the hope^(BG) of Israel,
    its Savior^(BH) in times of distress,^(BI)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?
⁹Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
    like a warrior powerless to save?^(BJ)
You are among^(BK) us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;^(BL)
    do not forsake^(BM) us!

¹⁰This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
    they do not restrain their feet.^(BN)
So the Lord does not accept^(BO) them;
    he will now remember^(BP) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.”^(BQ)

¹¹Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray^(BR) for the well-being of this people. ¹²Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;^(BS) though they offer burnt offerings^(BT) and grain offerings,^(BU) I will not accept^(BV) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,^(BW) famine^(BX) and plague.”^(BY)

¹³But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets^(BZ) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.^(CA) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace^(CB) in this place.’”

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies^(CC) in my name. I have not sent^(CD) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,^(CE) divinations,^(CF) idolatries^[c] and the delusions of their own minds. ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish^(CG) by sword and famine.^(CH) ¹⁶And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury^(CI) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.^(CJ) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.^(CK)

¹⁷“Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears^(CL)
    night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin^(CM) Daughter, my people,
    has suffered a grievous wound,
    a crushing blow.^(CN)
¹⁸If I go into the country,
    I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
    I see the ravages of famine.^(CO)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.^(CP)’”

¹⁹Have you rejected Judah completely?^(CQ)
    Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
    so that we cannot be healed?^(CR)
We hoped for peace
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.^(CS)
²⁰We acknowledge^(CT) our wickedness, Lord,
    and the guilt of our ancestors;^(CU)
    we have indeed sinned^(CV) against you.
²¹For the sake of your name^(CW) do not despise us;
    do not dishonor your glorious throne.^(CX)
Remember your covenant^(CY) with us
    and do not break it.
²²Do any of the worthless idols^(CZ) of the nations bring rain?^(DA)
    Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
    Therefore our hope is in you,
    for you are the one who does all this.^(DB)

15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses^(DC) and Samuel^(DD) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.^(DE) Send them away from my presence!^(DF) Let them go! ²And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;^(DG)
those for starvation, to starvation;^(DH)
those for captivity, to captivity.’^(DI)

³“I will send four kinds of destroyers^(DJ) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword^(DK) to kill and the dogs^(DL) to drag away and the birds^(DM) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.^(DN) ⁴I will make them abhorrent^(DO) to all the kingdoms of the earth^(DP) because of what Manasseh^(DQ) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.

⁵“Who will have pity^(DR) on you, Jerusalem?
    Who will mourn for you?
    Who will stop to ask how you are?
⁶You have rejected^(DS) me,” declares the Lord.
    “You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out^(DT) and destroy you;
    I am tired of holding back.^(DU)
⁷I will winnow^(DV) them with a winnowing fork
    at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement^(DW) and destruction on my people,^(DX)
    for they have not changed their ways.^(DY)
⁸I will make their widows^(DZ) more numerous
    than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer^(EA)
    against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
    anguish and terror.^(EB)
⁹The mother of seven will grow faint^(EC)
    and breathe her last.^(ED)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
    she will be disgraced^(EE) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword^(EF)
    before their enemies,”^(EG)
declares the Lord.

¹⁰Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,^(EH)
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!^(EI)
I have neither lent^(EJ) nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses^(EK) me.

¹¹The Lord said,

“Surely I will deliver you^(EL) for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead^(EM) with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.

¹²“Can a man break iron—
iron from the north^(EN)—or bronze?

¹³“Your wealth^(EO) and your treasures
    I will give as plunder,^(EP) without charge,^(EQ)
because of all your sins
    throughout your country.^(ER)
¹⁴I will enslave you to your enemies
    in^[d] a land you do not know,^(ES)
for my anger will kindle a fire^(ET)
    that will burn against you.”

¹⁵Lord, you understand;
    remember me and care for me.
    Avenge me on my persecutors.^(EU)
You are long-suffering^(EV)—do not take me away;
    think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.^(EW)
¹⁶When your words came, I ate^(EX) them;
    they were my joy and my heart’s delight,^(EY)
for I bear your name,^(EZ)
    Lord God Almighty.
¹⁷I never sat^(FA) in the company of revelers,
    never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand^(FB) was on me
    and you had filled me with indignation.
¹⁸Why is my pain unending
    and my wound grievous and incurable?^(FC)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
    like a spring that fails.^(FD)

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“If you repent, I will restore you
    that you may serve^(FE) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
    you will be my spokesman.^(FF)
Let this people turn to you,
    but you must not turn to them.
²⁰I will make you a wall^(FG) to this people,
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
    but will not overcome^(FH) you,
for I am with you
    to rescue and save you,”^(FI)
declares the Lord.
²¹“I will save^(FJ) you from the hands of the wicked^(FK)
    and deliver^(FL) you from the grasp of the cruel.”^(FM)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
Jeremiah 15:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts I will cause your enemies to bring you / into