New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

Jeremiah’s Linen Loincloth

This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it on, but do not wash it.”

1

The Linen Belt

Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water.

2

So I bought the loincloth as the LORD directed me, and I put it on.

2

And I bought a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it upon my loins.

3

Then the LORD gave me another message:

3

And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying,

4

“Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River.a Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.”

4

Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, 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 had instructed me.

5

So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah had commanded me.

6

A long time afterward the LORD said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.”

6

And it came to pass at the end of many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence which I commanded thee 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.

7

And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing.

8

Then I received this message from the LORD:

8

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

9

“This is what the LORD says: This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem.

9

Thus saith Jehovah: After this manner will I spoil the pride of Judah, and the great pride of 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!

10

This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and go after other gods, to serve them and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle which is good for nothing.

11

As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the LORD. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory — an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me.

11

For as a girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

12

“So tell them, ‘This is what the LORD, 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!’

12

The Wineskins

And thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Every skin shall be filled with wine. And they will say unto thee, Do we not very well know that every skin shall be filled with wine?

13

“Then tell them, ‘No, this is what the LORD means: 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.

13

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings that sit for David upon his throne, and the priests and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

14

I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says the LORD. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’”
A Warning against Pride

14

And I will dash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy so as not to destroy them.

15

Listen and pay attention!
Do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken.

15

Captivity Threatened

Hear ye, and give ear, be not lifted up; for Jehovah hath spoken.

16

Give glory to the LORD your 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.

16

Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight; and ye shall look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make [it] gross darkness.

17

And if you still refuse to listen,
I will weep alone because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
because the LORD’s flock will be led away into exile.

17

And if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for [your] pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock is gone into captivity.

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.”

18

Say unto the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down low; for from your heads shall come down the crown of your magnificence.

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.

19

The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open [them]; all Judah is carried away captive: it is wholly carried away captive.

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?

20

Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

21

What will you say when the LORD takes the allies you have cultivated
and appoints them as your rulers?
Pangs of anguish will grip you,
like those of a woman in labor!

21

What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee, since thou thyself hast trained them to be princes in chief over thee? Shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

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.

22

And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, [and] thy heels have suffered violence.

23

Can an Ethiopianb change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.

23

Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? [Then] may ye also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.

24

“I will scatter you like chaff
that is blown away by the desert winds.

24

And I will scatter them as stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.

25

This is your allotment,
the portion I have assigned to you,”
says the LORD,
“for you have forgotten me,
putting your trust in false gods.

25

This shall be thy lot, thy measured portion from me, saith Jehovah; because thou hast forgotten me, and confided in falsehood.

26

I myself will strip you
and expose you to shame.

26

Therefore will I also turn thy skirts over thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.

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?”

27

Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy fornication, on the hills, in the fields, -- thine abominations, have I seen. Woe unto thee, Jerusalem! Wilt thou not be made clean? after how long a time yet?

Parallel

New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

Jeremiah 13

Jeremiah 13