Jeremiah 13:1-17 - The Linen Loincloth

¹ This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it on, but do not put it in water.” ² So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.

³ Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: ⁴ “Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to the Euphrates and hide it in a rocky crevice.” ⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

⁶ A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined—of no use at all.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who have followed other gods to serve and worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. ¹¹ Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory, but they would not obey.

¹² “Say this to them: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine. Then they will respond to you, ‘Don’t we know that every jar should be filled with wine?’ ¹³ And you will say to them: This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land—the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the residents of Jerusalem—with drunkenness. ¹⁴ I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.”

¹⁵ Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
¹⁶ Give glory to the Lord your God
before He brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at dusk.
You wait for light,
but He brings darkest gloom
and makes thick darkness.
¹⁷ But if you will not listen,
my innermost being will weep in secret
because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
for the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.