Jeremiah 13:1–11

Symbol of the Linen Sash

13Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it ¹around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ²So I got a ²sash according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist.

³And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, ⁴“Take the ³sash that you acquired, which is ⁴around your waist, and arise, go to the ⁵Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” ⁵So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

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.” ⁷Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the ⁶sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹“Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner ^aI will ruin the pride of Judah and the great ^bpride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰This evil people, who ^crefuse to hear My words, who ^dfollow ⁷the 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. 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 ^ethey may become My people, ^ffor renown, for praise, and for ^gglory; but they would ^hnot hear.’