The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 13 -

Thus saith the Lord to me: Go, and get thee a linen girdle, and thou shalt put it about thy loins, and shalt not put it into water.

And I got a girdle accoding to the word of the Lord, and put it about my loins.

And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying:

Take the girdle which thou hast got, which is about thy loins, and arise, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

And I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord had commanded me.

And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me: Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.

And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle out of the place where I had hid it: and behold the girdle was rotten, so that it was fit for no use.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Thus saith the Lord: after this manner will I make the pride of Juda, and the great pride of Jerusalem to rot.

This wicked people, that will not hear my words, and that walk in the perverseness of their heart, and have gone after strange gods to serve them, and to adore them: and they shall be as this girdle which is fit for no use.

For as the girdle sticketh close to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me all of the house of Israel, and all the house of Juda, saith the Lord: that they might be my people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

The Wineskins

Thou shalt speak therefore to them this word: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Every bottle shall be filled with wine, and they shall say to thee: Do we not know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

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

And I will scatter them every man from his brother, and fathers and sons in like manner, saith the Lord: I will not spare, and I will not pardon: nor will I have mercy, but to destroy them.

Captivity Threatened

Hear ye, and give ear: Be not proud, for the Lord hath spoken.

Give ye glory to the Lord your God, before it be dark, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains: you shall look for light, and he will turn it into the shadow of death, and into darkness.

But if you will not hear this, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride: weeping it shall weep, and my eyes shall run down the tears, because the flock of the Lord is carried away captive.

Say to the king, and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down: for the crown of your glory is come down from your head.

The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open them: all Juda is carried away captive with an entire captivity.

Lift up your eyes, and see, you that come from the north: where is the flock that is given thee, thy beautiful cattle?

What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee? for thou hast taught them against thee, and instructed them against thy own head: shall not sorrows lay hold on thee, as a woman in labour?

And if thou shalt say in thy heart: Why are these things come upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity, thy nakedness is discovered, the soles of thy feet are defiled.

If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots: you may also do well, when you have learned evil.

And I will scatter them as stubble, which is carried away by the wind in the desert.

This is thy lot, and the portion of thy measure from me, saith the Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, and hast trusted in falsehood.

Wherefore I have also bared my thighs against thy face, and thy shame hath appeared.

I have seen thy adulteries, and thy neighing, the wickedness of thy fornication: and thy abominations, upon the hills in the field. Woe to thee, Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean after me: how long yet?

The LORD said to me, “Go, and buy yourself a linen belt, and put it on your waist, and don’t put it in water.”

So I bought a belt according to the LORD’s word, and put it on my waist.

The LORD’s word came to me the second time, saying,

“Take the belt that you have bought, which is on your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.”

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

After many days, the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the belt from there, which I commanded you to hide there.”

Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and took the belt from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the belt was ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

Then the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“The LORD says, ‘In this way I will ruin the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and have gone after other gods to serve them and to worship them, will even be as this belt, which is profitable for nothing.

For as the belt clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to me,’ says the LORD; ‘that they may be to me for a people, for a name, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’

The Wineskins

“Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘The LORD, the God of Israel says, “Every container should be filled with wine.”’ They will tell you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every container should be filled with wine?’

Then tell them, ‘The LORD says, “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD: “I will not pity, spare, or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.”’”

Captivity Threatened

Hear, and give ear. Don’t be proud, for the LORD has spoken.

Give glory to the LORD your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it deep darkness.

But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. My eye will weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves. Sit down, for your crowns have come down, even the crown of your glory.

The cities of the South are shut up, and there is no one to open them. Judah is carried away captive: all of them. They are wholly carried away captive.

Lift up your eyes, and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock?

What will you say when he sets over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? Won’t sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?

If you say in your heart, “Why have these things come on me?” Your skirts are uncovered because of the greatness of your iniquity, and your heels suffer violence.

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.

“Therefore I will scatter them as the stubble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

This is your lot, the portion measured to you from me,” says the LORD, “because you have forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.”

Therefore I will also uncover your skirts on your face, and your shame will appear.

I have seen your abominations, even your adulteries and your neighing, the lewdness of your prostitution, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem! You will not be made clean. How long will it yet be?”