Bible-Reading.comJeremiah 13
1Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water.
2And I bought a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it upon my loins.
3And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying,
4Take 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.
5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah had commanded me.
6And 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.
7And 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.
8And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
9Thus saith Jehovah: After this manner will I spoil the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
10This 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.
11For 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.
12And 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?
13And 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.
14And 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.
15Hear ye, and give ear, be not lifted up; for Jehovah hath spoken.
16Give 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.
17And 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.
18Say unto the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down low; for from your heads shall come down the crown of your magnificence.
19The 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.
20Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
21What 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?
22And 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.
23Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.
24And I will scatter them as stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25This shall be thy lot, thy measured portion from me, saith Jehovah; because thou hast forgotten me, and confided in falsehood.
26Therefore will I also turn thy skirts over thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.
27Thine 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?
Jeremiah 14
1The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.
2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up.
3And their nobles send their little ones for water: they come to the pits, they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed, they are confounded, and have covered their heads.
4Because the ground is chapt, for there hath been no rain on the earth, the ploughmen are ashamed, they cover their heads.
5For the hind also calveth in the field, and forsaketh its young, because there is no grass.
6And the wild asses stand on the heights, they snuff up the wind like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.
7Jehovah, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou act for thy name's sake; for our backslidings are many -- we have sinned against thee.
8Thou hope of Israel, its Saviour in the time of trouble, why wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a traveller that turneth aside to stay a night?
9Why wilt thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, Jehovah, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name: leave us not.
10Thus saith Jehovah to this people: Even so have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet; and Jehovah hath no delight in them: now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11And Jehovah said unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer up burnt-offering and oblation, I will not accept them: for I will consume them by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence.
13And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; for I will give you assured peace in this place.
14And Jehovah said unto me, The prophets prophesy falsehood in my name; I have not sent them, neither have I commanded them, nor spoken unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
15Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, and who say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and by famine shall those prophets be consumed;
16and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword; and there shall be none to bury them, them, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17And thou shalt say this word unto them: Let mine eyes run down with tears, night and day, and not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
18If I go forth into the field, behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, behold them that pine away with famine! For both prophet and priest shall go about into a land that they know not.
19-- Hast thou then utterly rejected Judah? Doth thy soul loathe Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? Peace is looked for, and there is no good, -- and a time of healing, and behold terror!
20Jehovah, we acknowledge our wickedness, the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee.
21For thy name's sake, do not spurn us, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou HE, Jehovah, our God? And we wait upon thee; for thou hast made all these things.