Jeremiah 13 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

This is what Yahweh told me: "Go buy yourself a linen undergarment and wear it around your waist — but don't wash it in water."

So I bought the undergarment, just as Yahweh told me, and I put it on.

Then Yahweh's message came to me a second time:

"Take the undergarment you bought — the one you're wearing — and go to the Euphrates. Hide it there in a crack in the rocks."

So I went and hid it near the Euphrates, just as Yahweh told me to.

A long time later, Yahweh said to me, "Go back to the Euphrates and get the undergarment I told you to hide there."

So I went to the Euphrates and dug it up from the place where I had hidden it — and the undergarment was ruined. Completely useless.

Then Yahweh's message came to me:

"This is what Yahweh says: In the same way, I will ruin the arrogance of Judah and the massive arrogance of Jerusalem."

"These evil people who refuse to listen to what I say, who stubbornly follow their own desires, who chase after other gods to serve them and bow down to them — they will end up just like this undergarment: completely useless."

"Because just as an undergarment clings to a person's waist, I made the entire house of Israel and the entire house of Judah cling to me" — this is Yahweh's declaration — "so they would be my people, my reputation, my praise, and my splendor. But they refused to listen."

"Now tell them this: 'This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.' And when they say to you, 'Obviously! Don't we already know that every wineskin gets filled with wine?'

"Then tell them: 'This is what Yahweh says: I'm about to fill everyone who lives in this land with drunkenness — the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and everyone living in Jerusalem.'"

"And I will smash them against each other — parents and children alike" — this is Yahweh's declaration. "I won't feel sorry for them, I won't show mercy, I won't have any compassion that would stop me from destroying them."

Listen — really listen. Don't be arrogant, because Yahweh has spoken.

Give Yahweh your God the honor he deserves before he brings the darkness — before your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight. You're hoping for light, but he'll turn it into deep shadow, reshaping it into pitch black.

But if you won't listen, I will weep in secret because of your arrogance. My eyes will overflow, streaming with tears, because Yahweh's flock has been taken captive.

Tell the king and the queen mother: "Come down from your thrones, because your magnificent crowns have fallen from your heads."

The cities in the southern desert are sealed shut; no one can open them. All of Judah has been carried off — every last person, taken into exile.

Look up, Jerusalem, and see them coming from the north! Where is the flock that was given to you — your beautiful sheep?

What will you say when he puts people over you as rulers — the very ones you trained to be your closest allies? Won't agony seize you like a woman in labor?

And if you ask yourself, "Why is this happening to me?" — it's because of your overwhelming failures that your skirts have been torn off, your body exposed and violated.

Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard get rid of its spots? Then maybe you could do something good — you who are so trained in doing evil.

"So I will scatter you like straw blown by the desert wind."

"This is what you get — the portion I've measured out for you," declares Yahweh, "because you forgot me and put your trust in lies."

"So I myself will strip your skirts up over your face, and your shame will be on full display."

"I've seen your disgusting acts — your adultery, your lustful cravings, your shameless prostitution — on the hills and in the fields. How horrible for you, Jerusalem! How long will you stay so filthy?"