Jeremiah 13

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Yahweh said this to me, 'Go and buy a linen waistcloth and put it round your waist. But do not dip it inwater.'	1 Thus says the Lord to me: “Go, and obtain for yourself a linen waistcloth. And you shall place it over your loins, and you shall not put it into water.”
2 And so, as Yahweh had ordered, I bought a waistcloth and put it round my waist.	2 And so I obtained a waistcloth, according to the word of the Lord, and I placed it around my loins.
3 A second time the word of Yahweh came to me,	3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying:
4 'Take the waistcloth that you have bought and are wearing round your waist. Up, go to the Euphratesand hide it there in a hole in the rock.'	4 “Take the waistcloth, which you obtained, which is around your loins, and, rising up, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in an opening of the rock.”
5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as Yahweh had ordered me.	5 And so I went, and I hid it by the Euphrates, just as the Lord had instructed me.
6 A long time later, Yahweh said to me, 'Up, go to the Euphrates and fetch the waistcloth I ordered you tohide there.'	6 And it happened that, after many days, the Lord said to me: “Rise up, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the waistcloth, which I instructed you to hide there.”
7 So I went to the Euphrates, and I searched, and I took the waistcloth from the place where I had hiddenit. And there was the waistcloth ruined, no use for anything.	7 And so I went to the Euphrates, and I dug up and took the waistcloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the waistcloth had rotted, so that it was not fit for any use.
8 Then the word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,	8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 'Yahweh says this, "In the same way I shal ruin the pride of Judah, the immense pride of Jerusalem.	9 “Thus says the Lord: In the same way, I will cause the arrogance of Judah and the arrogance of Jerusalem to rot.
10 This evil people, these people who refuse to listen to my words, who fol ow their own stubborninclinations and run after other gods, serving and worshipping them -- this people wil become like this waistcloth,no good for anything.	10 This most wicked people, they are not willing to listen to my words, for they walk in the depravity of their own heart, and they have gone after strange gods, so as to serve them and to adore them. And so, they will become like this waistcloth, which is not fit for any use.
11 For just as a waistcloth clings to a man's waist, so I made the whole House of Israel and the wholeHouse of Judah cling to me, Yahweh declares, to be my people, my glory, my honour and my pride. But theyhave not listened."	11 For just as the waistcloth clings to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me the entire house of Israel and the entire house of Judah, says the Lord, so that they would be to me: a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory. But they did not listen.
12 'You wil also say this to them, "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: Any jug can be fil ed with wine." And if they answer you, "Do you think we do not know that any jug can be fil ed with wine?"	12 Therefore, you shall speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Every bottle will be filled with wine.’ And they will say to you: ‘Are we ignorant that every bottle will be filled with wine?’
13 you are to say, "Yahweh says this: Look, I shal fil al the inhabitants of this country, the kings whooccupy the throne of David, the priests, the prophets and al the citizens of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.	13 And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings from the stock of David who sit upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, unto inebriation.
14 Then I shal smash them one against the other, parents and children al together, Yahweh declares.Mercilessly, relentlessly, pitilessly, I shal destroy them." '	14 And I will scatter them, a man from his brother, and fathers and sons similarly, says the Lord. I will not spare them, and I will not pardon them, and I will not take pity, so as not to destroy them.”
15 Listen and pay attention, do not be proud: Yahweh is speaking!	15 Hear and pay close attention. Do not choose to lift yourself up, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to Yahweh your God before the darkness comes, before your feet stumble on the darkenedmountains. You hope for light, but he wil turn it to shadow dark as death, wil change it to blackness.	16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before darkness falls, and before your feet stumble on the darkened mountains. You will expect light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death and into utter darkness.
17 If you do not listen to this warning, I shal weep in secret for your pride; my eyes wil weep bitterly andstream with tears, for Yahweh's flock is being led into captivity.	17 But if you will not listen to this, then my soul will weep in secret before the face of your pride. It will weep bitterly, and my eyes will flow with tears, because the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
18 Tel the king and the queen mother, 'Sit in a lower place, since your glorious crown has fal en fromyour head.	18 “Say to the king and to the female ruler: Humble yourselves, sit down. For the crown of your glory has gone down from your head.
19 The towns of the Negeb are shut off with no one to give access to them. Al Judah has been deported,deported wholesale.'	19 The cities of the south have been closed, and there is no one who may open them. All of Judah has been taken away into complete captivity.
20 Raise your eyes and look at these now coming from the north. Where is the flock once entrusted toyou, the flock which was your pride?	20 Lift up your eyes and see, you who are arriving from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your famous cattle?
21 What wil you say when they come and punish you, you yourself having taught them? Against you, inthe lead, wil come your friends. Then will not anguish grip you as it grips a woman in labour?	21 What will you say when he visits upon you? For you have taught them against you, and you have instructed them with your own head. Will not pains take hold of you, as with a woman in labor?
22 And should you ask yourself, 'Why is al this happening to me?' it is because of your great guilt thatyour skirts have been pulled up and you have been manhandled.	22 But if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ it is because of the greatness of your iniquity that your shame has been uncovered and the soles of your feet have been defiled.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? And you, can you do right, being soaccustomed to wrong?	23 If the Ethiopian is able to change his skin, or the leopard is able to change his spots, then you also may be able to do well, though you have learned evil.
24 'I shall scatter you like chaff on the desert wind.	24 And I will scatter them like chaff, which is carried away by the wind in the desert.
25 This is your share, the part allotted you, from me, Yahweh declares, because you have forgotten meand put your trust in Delusion.	25 This is your lot, and this is the portion of your measure from me, says the Lord, because you have forgotten me, and you have had confidence in what is false.
26 I am the one who pul s your skirts up over your face to let your shame be seen.	26 Therefore, I have even bared your thighs before your face, and your shame has been seen.
27 Oh! Your adulteries, your shrieks of pleasure, your vile prostitution! On the hills, in the fields, I haveseen your Horrors. Jerusalem, disaster is coming for you! How much longer till you are made clean?'	27 For I have seen your adulteries, and your neighing for the wickedness of your fornication, and your abominations upon the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem! How much longer before you will be made clean after me?”