Jeremiah 13

The Ruined Loincloth

Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

15

Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16

Give glory to the Lord your God

before he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and while you look for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it deep darkness.

17

But if you will not listen,

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.

18

Say to the king and the queen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for your beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”

19

The cities of the Negeb are shut up,

with none to open them;

all Judah is taken into exile,

wholly taken into exile.

20

“Lift up your eyes and see

those who come from the north.

Where is the flock that was given you,

your beautiful flock?

21

What will you say when they set as head over you

those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?

Will not pangs take hold of you

like those of a woman in labor?

22

And if you say in your heart,

‘Why have these things come upon me?’

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that your skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

23

Can the Ethiopian change his skin

or the leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24

I will scatter you like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25

This is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,

because you have forgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26

I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27

I have seen your abominations,

your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,

on the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be before you are made clean?”

Jeremiah 14

« Jer 13Jer 14Jer 15 »

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2

“Judah mourns,

and her gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3

Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ashamed and confounded

and cover their heads.

4

Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is no rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5

Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6

The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7

“Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;

for our backslidings are many;

we have sinned against you.

8

O you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9

Why should you be like a man confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and we are called by your name;

do not leave us.”

10

Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore the Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them⁠—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
17

“You shall say to them this word:

‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

with a very grievous blow.

18

If I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

And if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19

Have you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

We looked for peace, but no good came;

for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20

We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

for we have sinned against you.

21

Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

remember and do not break your covenant with us.

22

Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

for you do all these things.

Psalm 82

« Psalm 81Psalm 82Psalm 83 »

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of Asaph.

God has taken his place in the divine council;

in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

2

“How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

3

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;

maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4

Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5

They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

they walk about in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6

I said, “You are gods,

sons of the Most High, all of you;

7

nevertheless, like men you shall die,

and fall like any prince.”

8

Arise, O God, judge the earth;

for you shall inherit all the nations!

Proverbs 22

« Prov 21Prov 22Prov 23 »

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

and favor is better than silver or gold.

2

The rich and the poor meet together;

the Lord is the Maker of them all.

3

The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it.

4

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord

is riches and honor and life.

5

Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;

whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.

6

Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

7

The rich rules over the poor,

and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

8

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,

and the rod of his fury will fail.

9

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor.

10

Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,

and quarreling and abuse will cease.

11

He who loves purity of heart,

and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.

12

The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he overthrows the words of the traitor.

13

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!

I shall be killed in the streets!”

14

The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit;

he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

15

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

16

Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,

or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Words of the Wise

17

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my knowledge,

18

for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips.

19

That your trust may be in the Lord,

I have made them known to you today, even to you.

20

Have I not written for you thirty sayings

of counsel and knowledge,

21

to make you know what is right and true,

that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

22

Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,

or crush the afflicted at the gate,

23

for the Lord will plead their cause

and rob of life those who rob them.

24

Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man,

25

lest you learn his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare.

26

Be not one of those who give pledges,

who put up security for debts.

27

If you have nothing with which to pay,

why should your bed be taken from under you?

28

Do not move the ancient landmark

that your fathers have set.

29

Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings;

he will not stand before obscure men.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.