Jeremiah 13

1 “This is what the Lord says: Go and get yourself a linen belt and put it around your waist, and it must not pass through water.”

2 So I procured the belt according to the word of the Lord, and put it about my waist.

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

4 “Take the belt that is on your waist, and arise, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.”

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

6 Then, after many days, the Lord said to me,

“Get up, go to the Euphrates, and take back from there the belt I commanded you to hide.”

7 So I went to the river Euphrates, and dug, and took the belt out of the place where I had buried it: and, look, it was rotten, utterly good for nothing.

8 And the word of the Lord came to me:

9 “This is what the Lord says: In this same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the pride of Jerusalem —”

10 “this great pride — the men who refuse to obey my words, who have gone after foreign gods to serve them and bow down to them. They will be like this belt, which is good for nothing.”

11 “For as a belt clings to a man’s waist, so I made the house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, so that they would be for me a people of renown, a boast and a glory. But they did not listen to me.”

12 “And you are to say to this people: Every wineskin will be filled with wine. And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know perfectly well that every wineskin will be filled with wine?’ —”

13 “then say to them: This is what the Lord says: Look, I am going to fill everyone living in this land — the kings, the sons of David who sit on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and Judah and all who live in Jerusalem — with strong drink.”

14 “And I will scatter them, a man and his brother, their fathers and their sons together. I will not yearn for them, says the Lord; I will not spare, and I will not pity them out of their destruction.”

15 “Hear and give ear; do not be lifted up, for the Lord has spoken.”

16 “Give glory to the Lord your God before the dark comes down, before your feet stumble on the darkened mountains. You will wait for light, but there will be the shadow of death, and they will be put into darkness.”

17 “But if you do not listen, your soul will weep in secret in the face of your pride, and your eyes will run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been shattered.”

18 “Say to the king and to those in power: Humble yourselves and sit low, for your crown of glory has been taken from your head.”

19 “The cities of the south were shut tight, with no one to open them. Judah was carried away — a complete deportation.”

20 “Lift up your eyes, Jerusalem, and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, the sheep of your glory?”

21 “What will you say when they call you to account? You yourself taught them lessons in ruling over you. Will pangs not seize you like a woman in labor?”

22 “And if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ — because of your abundant wrongdoing your skirts were pulled up, to make an example of your heels.”

23 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard her spots? Then you too could do good, after learning evil so well.”

24 “So I scattered them as sticks carried by the wind into the wilderness.”

25 “This is your lot, your portion for disobeying me, says the Lord, because you forgot me and hoped in lies.”

26 “So I myself will pull your skirts up over your face, and your disgrace will be seen.”

27 “Your adultery, your neighing, the estrangement of your whoring — on the hills and in the fields I have seen your detestable things. Woe to you, Jerusalem, for you have not been made clean to follow me. How much longer?”