Jeremiah 12–13

12^aRighteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet ^||let me ^btalk with thee of thy judgments: ^cWherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they ^dhappy that ^edeal very treacherously? ²Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: ^†they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: ^fthou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. ³But thou, O Lord, ^gknowest me: thou hast seen me, and ^htried mine heart ^†toward thee: ⁱpull them out ^klike sheep for the slaughter, and ^lprepare them for ^mthe day of slaughter. ⁴How long shall ⁿthe land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, ^ofor the wickedness of them that dwell therein? ^pthe beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

⁵If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou ^ppcontend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in ^qthe swelling of Jordan? ⁶For even ^rthy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have ^edealt treacherously with thee; yea, ^||they have called a multitude after thee: ^sbelieve them not, though they speak ^†fair words unto thee.

⁷I have forsaken mine house, I have left ^tmine heritage; I have given ^†the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. ^8tMine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it ^||†crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it. ⁹Mine heritage is unto me as a ^||speckled ^ubird, ^uthe birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, ^||vcome to devour. ¹⁰Many ^wpastors have destroyed ^xmy vineyard, ^ythey have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my ^†pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. ¹¹They have made it desolate, and being desolate ⁿit mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man ^zlayeth it to heart. ¹²The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. ^13aThey have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: ^bthey have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and ^||they shall be ashamed of ^cyour revenues ^dbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.

¹⁴Thus saith the Lord against all ^emine evil neighbours, ^fthat touch the inheritance ^gwhich I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. ¹⁵And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out ^hI will return, and ^hhave compassion on them, and ^hiwill bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. ¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, ^kto swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall ^lthey be built in the midst of my people. ¹⁷But ^mif they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord.

13^*Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee ^aa linen ^bgirdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. ^2cSo 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 ^da 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 ^ewas marred, it ^fwas profitable for nothing. ⁸Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ⁹Thus saith the Lord, ^gAfter this manner will I ^emar ^hthe pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which ⁱwalk 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 ^fis 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; ^kthat they might be unto me for a people, and ^lmnfor a name, and ^lnofor a praise, and ^lfor a glory: but they would not hear.

¹²Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, ^pEvery bottle ^qshall be filled with wine: and ^rthey 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 ^sthe kings that sit upon David’s throne, and ^sthe priests, and ^sthe prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ^twith drunkenness. ¹⁴And ^uI 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. ^16vGive glory to the Lord your God, before ^whe cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ^xye look for light, he turn it into ^ythe shadow of death, and make it ^zgross darkness. ¹⁷But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your ^apride; and ^bmine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. ¹⁸Say unto ^cthe king and to ^cdthe queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your ^||principalities shall come down, even ^ethe crown of your glory. ¹⁹The cities of the south shall be ^fshut 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 ^gthem 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 ^hcaptains, and as ⁱchief over thee: ^kshall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail? ²²And if thou say in thine heart, ^lWherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are ^mthy skirts discovered, and thy heels ^||made bare. ²³Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or ⁿthe leopard his spots? ^othen may ye also do good, that are ^†accustomed to do evil. ²⁴Therefore will I scatter them ^pas the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. ^25qThis is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because ^rthou hast forgotten me, and trusted in ^sfalsehood. ²⁶Therefore will I discover ^mtthy skirts upon thy face, that ^uthy shame may appear. ²⁷I have seen thine adulteries, and thy ^vneighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations ^won the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! ^xwilt thou not be made clean? ^†when shall it once be?