13:1 Thus saith the Lord, Go and procure for
thyself a linen girdle, and put it about thy loins, and let it not be put in
water.
13:2 So I procured the girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it
about my loins.
13:3 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
13:4 Take the girdle that is upon thy loins, and arise, and go to the
Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
13:5 So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
13:6 And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me, Arise,
go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to
hide there.
13:7 So I went to the river Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle out of
the place where I [had] buried it: and, behold, it was rotten, utterly good
for nothing.
13:8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord,
13:9 Thus will I mar the pride of Juda, and the pride of Jerusalem;
13:10 [even] this great pride [of the men] that will not hearken to my
words, and have gone after strange gods, to serve them, and to worship them:
and they shall be as this girdle, which can be used for nothing.
13:11 For as a girdle cleaves about the loins of a man, so have I caused to
cleave to myself the house of Israel, and the whole house of Juda; that they
might be to me a famous people, and a praise, and a glory: but they did not
hearken to me.
13:12 And thou shalt say to this people, Every bottle shall be filled with
wine: and it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Shall we not
certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? that thou shalt
say to them,
13:13 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I [will] fill the inhabitants of this
land, and their kings the sons of David that sit upon their throne, and the
priests, and the prophets, and Juda and all the dwellers in Jerusalem, with
strong drink.
13:14 And I will scatter them a man and his brother, and their fathers and
their sons together: I will not have compassion, saith the Lord, and I will
not spare, neither will I pity [to save them] from destruction.
13:15 Hear ye, and give ear, and be not proud: for the Lord has spoken.
13:16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before
your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and ye shall wait for light, and
behold the shadow of death, and they shall be brought into darkness.
13:17 But if ye will not hearken, your soul shall weep in secret because of
pride, and your eyes shall pour down tears, because the Lord's flock is
sorely bruised.
13:18 Say ye to the king and the princes, Humble yourselves, and sit down;
for your crown of glory is removed from your head.
13:19 The cities toward the south were shut, and there was none to open
[them]: Juda is removed [into captivity,] they have suffered a complete
removal.
13:20 Lift up thine eyes, O Jerusalem, and behold them that come from the
north; where is the flock that was given thee, the sheep of thy glory?
13:21 What wilt thou say when they shall visit thee, for thou didst teach
them lessons for rule against thyself; shall not pangs seize thee as a woman
in travail?
13:22 And if thou shouldest say in thine heart, Wherefore have these things
happened to me? Because of the abundance of thine iniquity have thy skirts
been discovered, that thine heels might be exposed.
13:23 If the Ethiopian shall change his skin, or the leopardess her spots,
then shall ye be able to do good, having learnt evil.
13:24 So I scattered them as sticks carried by the wind into the wilderness.
13:25 Thus is thy lot, and the reward of your disobedience to me, saith he
Lord; as thou didst forget me, and trust in lies,
13:26 I also will expose thy skirts upon thy face, and thy shame shall be
seen;
13:27 thine adultery also, and thy neighing, and the looseness of thy
fornication: on the hills and in the fields I have seen thine abominations.
Woe to thee, O Jerusalem, for thou hast not been purified so as to follow
me; how long yet [shall it be]? |
13:1 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get
thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
13:2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my
loins.
13:3 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
13:4 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise,
go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
13:5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
13:6 And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise,
go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to
hide there.
13:7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the
place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was
profitable for nothing.
13:8 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
13:9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah,
and the great pride of Jerusalem.
13:10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the
imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to
worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.
13:11 For as the 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
the LORD; 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.
13:12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say
unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with
wine?
13:13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's
throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
13:14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the
sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy,
but destroy them.
13:15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before
your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he
turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
13:17 But 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
the LORD's flock is carried away captive.
13:18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for
your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
13:19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them:
Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried
away captive.
13:20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is
the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
13:21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught
them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as
a woman in travail?
13:22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me?
For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels
made bare.
13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may
ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
13:24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the
wind of the wilderness.
13:25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD;
because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
13:26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may
appear.
13:27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy
whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee,
O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be? |