| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” | 1The LORD said to me, "Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water." |
| 2So I got a sash according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. | 2So I bought the shorts as the LORD had told me to do and put them on. |
| 3And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, | 3Then the LORD spoke to me again and said, |
| 4“Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” | 4"Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks." |
| 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. | 5So I went and buried them at Perath as the LORD had ordered me to do. |
| 6Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.” | 6Many days later the LORD said to me, "Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there." |
| 7Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing. | 7So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing. |
| 8Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, | 8Then the LORD said to me, |
| 9“Thus says the LORD: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. | 9"I, the LORD, say: 'This shows how I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. |
| 10This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. | 10These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. |
| 11For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’ | 11For,' I say, 'just as shorts cling tightly to a person's body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah tightly to me.' I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. But they would not obey me. |
| 12“Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’ “And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’ | 12"So tell them, 'The LORD, the God of Israel, says, "Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine."' And they will probably say to you, 'Do you not think we know that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?' |
| 13“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! | 13Then tell them, 'The LORD says, "I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. I will also fill the kings from David's dynasty, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. |
| 14And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ” | 14And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,' says the LORD." |
| 15Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken. | 15Then I said to the people of Judah, "Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant! For the LORD has spoken. |
| 16Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. | 16Show the LORD your God the respect that is due him. Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. Do it before you stumble into distress like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for into the darkness and gloom of exile. |
| 17But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive. | 17But if you will not pay attention to this warning, I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride. I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears because you, the LORD's flock, will be carried into exile." |
| 18Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.” | 18The LORD told me, "Tell the king and the queen mother, 'Surrender your thrones, for your glorious crowns will be removed from your heads. |
| 19The cities of the South shall be shut up, And no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; It shall be wholly carried away captive. | 19The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. No one will be able to go in or out of them. All Judah will be carried off into exile. They will be completely carried off into exile.'" |
| 20Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, Your beautiful sheep? | 20Then I said, "Look up, Jerusalem, and see the enemy that is coming from the north. Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? Where now are the 'sheep' that you take such pride in? |
| 21What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them To be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not pangs seize you, Like a woman in labor? | 21What will you say when the LORD appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. |
| 22And if you say in your heart, “Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare. | 22You will probably ask yourself, 'Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?' It is because you have sinned so much. |
| 23Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. | 23But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots? |
| 24“Therefore I will scatter them like stubble That passes away by the wind of the wilderness. | 24"The LORD says, 'That is why I will scatter your people like chaff that is blown away by a desert wind. |
| 25This is your lot, The portion of your measures from Me,” says the LORD, “Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in falsehood. | 25This is your fate, the destiny to which I have appointed you, because you have forgotten me and have trusted in false gods. |
| 26Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face, That your shame may appear. | 26So I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress! |
| 27I have seen your adulteries And your lustful neighings, The lewdness of your harlotry, Your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?” | 27People of Jerusalem, I have seen your adulterous worship, your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. I have seen your disgusting acts of worship on the hills throughout the countryside. You are doomed to destruction! How long will you continue to be unclean?'" |
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