THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 13 ©
God’s bounty, the people’s unthankfulness, and future judgments are represented by the sign of a linen girdle, v. 1, etc. And by the similitude of filling all wine bottles full with wine, is shown, that God will make them altogether drunk in miseries with the cup of His wrath, 12. God yet exhorts them to prevent these judgments by humble repentance, 15. (Wherewith the prophet shows his affection, 17.) Especially the king and queen, 18. But knowing that they would change themselves as little as an Ethiopian can change his skin or a leopard his spots, He foretells their utter confusion and destruction, 22.
THUS saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and 1put it upon thy loins, and put it not in 2water.
So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins.
And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to 3Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
And it came to pass 4after 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.
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.
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the 5pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
This evil people, 6which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the 7imagination 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.
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 8name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not 9hear.
¶Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, 10Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not 11certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?
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 12David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with 13drunkenness.
And I will dash them 14one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
¶Hear ye, and give ear; 15be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
Give 16glory to the LORD your God, before he cause 17darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the 18dark mountains, and, while ye look for 19light,a he turn 20it into the shadowb of death, and make it gross darkness.
But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your 21pride; and mine eyec shall weep 22sore, and 23run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock 24is carried away captive.
25Say unto the king and to the 26queen, 27Humble yourselves, sit down: for your 28principalities shall come down, even the crown 29of your glory.
The cities of the 30south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be 31wholly carried away captive.
Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the 32north: where is the 33flock that was 34given thee, thy 35beautiful flock?
What wilt 36thou say when 37he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, asd a woman in 38travail?
¶And if thou say in thine 39heart, Whereforee come these things upon me? 40For the 41greatness of thine iniquity are thy 42skirtsf discovered, and thy heels 43made bare.
44Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his 45spots? then may ye also do good, that are 46accustomed to do evil.
Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the 47wind of the wilderness.
This is thy lot, the 48portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in 49falsehood.
Therefore will I discover thy 50skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.
I have seen thine 51adulteries, and thy 52neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the 53hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! 54wilt thou not be made clean? 55when shall it once be?