Jeremiah13
King James Version · Public Domain
1Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
2So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.
3And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,
4Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
5So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.
7Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
8Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
10This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.
11For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
12Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?
13Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
14And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
15Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
16Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
17But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock is carried away captive.
18Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
19The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
20Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
21What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
22And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.
23Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
24Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
26Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.
27I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Jeremiah 13.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The glory of the Jews should be marred. (1-11). All ranks should suffer misery, An earnest exhortation to repentance. (12-17). An awful message to Jerusalem and its king. (18-27).
vv1-11
It was usual with the prophets to teach by signs. And we have the explanation, 9-11. The people of Israel had been to God as this girdle. He caused them to cleave to him by the law he gave them, the prophets he sent among them, and the favours he showed them. They had by their idolatries and sins buried themselves in foreign earth, mingled among the nations, and were so corrupted that they were good for nothing. If we are proud of learning, power, and outward privileges, it is just with God to wither them. The minds of men should be awakened to a sense of their guilt and danger; yet nothing will be effectual without the influences of the Spirit.
vv12-17
As the bottle was fitted to hold the wine, so the sins of the people made them vessels of wrath, fitted for the judgments of God; with which they should be filled till they caused each other's destruction. The prophet exhorts them to give glory to God, by confessing their sins, humbling themselves in repentance, and returning to his service. Otherwise they would be carried into other countries in all the darkness of idolatry and wickedness. All misery, witnessed or foreseen, will affect a feeling mind, but the pious heart must mourn most over the afflictions of the Lord's flock.
vv18-27
Here is a message sent to king Jehoiakim, and his queen. Their sorrows would be great indeed. Do they ask, Wherefore come these things upon us? Let them know, it is for their obstinacy in sin. We cannot alter the natural colour of the skin; and so is it morally impossible to reclaim and reform these people. Sin is the blackness of the soul; it is the discolouring of it; we were shapen in it, so that we cannot get clear of it by any power of our own. But Almighty grace is able to change the Ethiopian's skin. Neither natural depravity, nor strong habits of sin, form an obstacle to the working of God, the new-creating Spirit. The Lord asks of Jerusalem, whether she is determined not be made clean. If any poor slave of sin feels that he could as soon change his nature as master his headstrong lusts, let him not despair; for things impossible to men are possible with God. Let us then seek help from Him who is mighty to save.
Key Words
כֹּה: properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
הָלַךְ: to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)
קָנָה: to erect, i.e. create; by extension, to procure, especially by purchase (causatively, sell); by implication to own
פִּשְׁתֶּה: linen (i.e. the thread, as carded)
אֵזוֹר: something girt; a belt, also a band
שׂוּם: to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
מֹתֶן: properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
Cross References
Jeremiah 13Exodus describes God cleaving Israel to Himself as a peculiar treasure, echoed by the girdle image.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The cup of God's fury/wine bottles filled with wrath to make the nations drunken.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The historical fulfillment of the young king Jehoiachin and his queen mother surrendering to Babylon.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The Pentateuchal warning that God will break and mar "the pride of your power."
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Israel was meant to be to God a name of joy, a praise, and an honor.
Supported by JFB
Jerusalem drinking the dregs of the cup of trembling, filled with divine bewilderment and fury.
Supported by JFB
Joshua's command to "give glory to the Lord" through confession and repentance before judgment falls.
Supported by JFB
Walking while there is light, lest the darkness of stumbling and death overtake you.
Supported by JFB
Jeremiah's deep personal grief, wishing his eyes were a fountain of tears for his people.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Specific judgment pronounced on Jeconiah and his mother, casting them out into a foreign land.
Supported by JFB
The vivid, terrifying metaphor of exposing skirts over the face to reveal the shame of unfaithfulness.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrasts the corrupt, rotten girdle of Judah with the Messiah's girdle of righteousness and faithfulness.
Supported by John Calvin
Contrasts the ruined, marred glory of Judah with God's ultimate plan to make Israel a crown of glory.
Supported by John Calvin
Dashing the rebellious nations to pieces like a potter's vessel.
Supported by JFB
The carnal mind's utter inability to subject itself to God's law, like the leopard's immutable spots.
Supported by Matthew Henry