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Jeremiah 13
New American Standard Bible 1995
Jeremiah 13
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Ruined Waistband
13 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and (A)buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the waistband in accordance with the (B)word of the Lord and put it around my waist. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to [a]the (C)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, (D)as the Lord had commanded me. 6 After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Just so will I destroy the (E)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This wicked people, who (F)refuse to listen to My words, who (G)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. 11 For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah (H)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for [b](I)renown, for (J)praise and for glory; but they (K)did not listen.’
Captivity Threatened
12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with (L)drunkenness! 14 I will (M)dash them against each other, both the (N)fathers and the sons together,” declares the Lord. “I will (O)not show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion so as not to destroy them.”’”
15 Listen and give heed, do not be (P)haughty,
For the Lord has spoken.
16 (Q)Give glory to the Lord your God,
Before He brings (R)darkness
And before your (S)feet stumble
On the dusky mountains,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into (T)deep darkness,
And turns it into gloom.
17 But (U)if you will not listen to it,
My soul will (V)sob in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears,
Because the (W)flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
18 Say to the (X)king and the queen mother,
“(Y)Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful (Z)crown
Has come down from your head.”
19 The (AA)cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them;
All (AB)Judah has been carried into exile,
Wholly carried into exile.
20 “Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming (AC)from the north.
Where is the (AD)flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 “What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former [c](AE)companions to be head over you?
Will not (AF)pangs take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22 “If you (AG)say in your heart,
‘(AH)Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the (AI)magnitude of your iniquity
(AJ)Your skirts have been removed
And your heels have [d]been exposed.
23 “(AK)Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can (AL)do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 “Therefore I will (AM)scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert (AN)wind.
25 “This is your (AO)lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Because you have (AP)forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood.
26 “So I Myself have also (AQ)stripped your skirts off over your face,
That your shame may be seen.
27 “As for your (AR)adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The (AS)lewdness of your prostitution
On the (AT)hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
(AU)How long will you remain unclean?”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or Parah, cf Josh 18:23; so through v 7
- Jeremiah 13:11 Lit a name
- Jeremiah 13:21 Or chieftains
- Jeremiah 13:22 Or suffered violence
Jeremiah 13
New International Version
Jeremiah 13
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.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then 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.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(C)
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So 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.
8 Then 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. 10 These 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) 11 For 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?’ 13 then 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. 14 I 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
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.(Q)
16 Give 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)
17 If 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)
18 Say 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.”
19 The 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.
20 Look 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?
21 What 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)
22 And 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)
23 Can 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)
25 This 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)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen(AQ)—
27 your 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)
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)
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.