| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” | 1This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it on, but do not wash it.” |
| 2So I bought a loincloth as the LORD had instructed me, and I put it around my waist. | 2So I bought the loincloth as the LORD directed me, and I put it on. |
| 3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: | 3Then the LORD gave me another message: |
| 4“Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to Perath and hide it there in a crevice of the rocks.” | 4“Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.” |
| 5So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD had commanded me. | 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as the LORD had instructed me. |
| 6Many days later the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to Perath, and get the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” | 6A long time afterward the LORD said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.” |
| 7So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth, and I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined—of no use at all. | 7So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was rotting and falling apart. The loincloth was good for nothing. |
| 8Then the word of the LORD came to me: | 8Then I received this message from the LORD: |
| 9“This is what the LORD says: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. | 9“This is what the LORD says: This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. |
| 10These evil people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who go after other gods to serve and worship them, they will be like this loincloth—of no use at all. | 10These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing! |
| 11For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen. | 11As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the LORD. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me. |
| 12Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ | 12“So tell them, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: May all your jars be filled with wine.’ And they will reply, ‘Of course! Jars are made to be filled with wine!’ |
| 13then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem. | 13“Then tell them, ‘No, this is what the LORD means: I will fill everyone in this land with drunkenness—from the king sitting on David’s throne to the priests and the prophets, right down to the common people of Jerusalem. |
| 14I will smash them against one another, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no mercy or pity or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.’ ” | 14I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says the LORD. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’” A Warning against Pride |
| 15Listen and give heed. Do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken. | 15Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken. |
| 16Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness. | 16Give glory to the LORD your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom. |
| 17But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive. | 17And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock will be led away into exile. |
| 18Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.” | 18Say to the king and his mother, “Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns will soon be snatched from your heads.” |
| 19The cities of the Negev have been shut tight, and no one can open them. All Judah has been carried into exile, wholly taken captive. | 19The towns of the Negev will close their gates, and no one will be able to open them. The people of Judah will be taken away as captives. All will be carried into exile. |
| 20Lift up your eyes and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, the sheep that were your pride? | 20Open up your eyes and see the armies marching down from the north! Where is your flock— your beautiful flock— that he gave you to care for? |
| 21What will you say when He sets over you close allies whom you yourself trained? Will not pangs of anguish grip you, as they do a woman in labor? | 21What will you say when the LORD takes the allies you have cultivated and appoints them as your rulers? Pangs of anguish will grip you, like those of a woman in labor! |
| 22And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed. | 22You may ask yourself, “Why is all this happening to me?” It is because of your many sins! That is why you have been stripped and raped by invading armies. |
| 23Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil. | 23Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil. |
| 24“I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind. | 24“I will scatter you like chaff that is blown away by the desert winds. |
| 25This is your lot, the portion I have measured to you,” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood. | 25This is your allotment, the portion I have assigned to you,” says the LORD, “for you have forgotten me, putting your trust in false gods. |
| 26So I will pull your skirts up over your face, that your shame may be seen. | 26I myself will strip you and expose you to shame. |
| 27Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?” | 27I have seen your adultery and lust, and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills. What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem! How long before you are pure?” |
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