Jeremiah 13

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The LORD said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth; wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water.	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 I bought the loincloth, as the LORD commanded, and put it on.	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 the LORD came to me thus:	3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying:
4 Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Parath; there hide it in a cleft of 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 Obedient to the LORD'S command, I went to the Parath and buried the loincloth.	5 And so I went, and I hid it by the Euphrates, just as the Lord had instructed me.
6 After a long interval, he said to me: Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth which I told you to hide 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 Again I went to the Parath, sought out and took the loincloth from the place where I had hid it. But it was rotted, good for nothing!	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 message came to me from the LORD:	8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 Thus says the LORD: So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great 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 wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, and follow strange gods to serve and adore them, shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing.	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, as close as the loincloth clings to a man's loins, so had I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty. But they did not listen.	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 Now speak to them this word: Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Every wineflask is meant to be filled with wine. If they reply, "Do we not know that every wineflask is meant to be filled 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 say to them: Thus says the LORD: Beware! I am filling with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land, the kings who succeed to David's throne, the priests and prophets, and all the citizens of Jerusalem.	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 I will dash them against each other, fathers and sons together, says the LORD; I will show no compassion, I will not spare or pity, but will 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 Give ear, listen humbly, for the LORD speaks.	15 Hear and pay close attention. Do not choose to lift yourself up, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the LORD, your God, before it grows dark; Before your feet stumble on darkening mountains; Before the light you look for turns to darkness, changes into black clouds.	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 in your pride, I will weep in secret many tears; My eyes will run with tears for the LORD'S flock, led away to exile.	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 Say to the king and to the queen mother: come down from your throne; From your heads fall your magnificent crowns.	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 cities of the Negeb are besieged, with no one to relieve them; All Judah is banished in universal exile.	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 Lift up your eyes and see men coming from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, the sheep that were your glory?	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 will you say when they place as rulers over you those whom you taught to be your lovers? Will not pangs seize you like those of a woman giving birth?	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 If you ask in your heart why these things befall you: For your great guilt your skirts are stripped away and you are violated.	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? the leopard his spots? As easily would you be able to do good, accustomed to evil as you are.	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 will scatter them like chaff that flies when the desert wind blows.	24 And I will scatter them like chaff, which is carried away by the wind in the desert.
25 This is your lot, the portion measured out to you from me, says the LORD. Because you have forgotten me, and trusted in the lying idol,	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 now will strip off your skirts from you, so that your shame will appear.	26 Therefore, I have even bared your thighs before your face, and your shame has been seen.
27 Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameless prostitutions: On the hills in the highlands I see these horrible crimes of yours. Woe to you, Jerusalem, how long will it yet be before you become 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?”