Thus saith
the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle,
and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in
water.
02 So I got a girdle according to the word of the
Lord, and put it on my loins.
03 And the word of the Lord came unto me the
second time, saying,
04 Take 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.
05 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the
Lord commanded me.
06 And 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.
07 Then 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.
08 Then the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
09 Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I
mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of
Jerusalem.
10 This 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.
11 For 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.
12 Therefore 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?
13 Then 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.
14 And 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.
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15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the
Lord hath spoken.
16 Give 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.
17 But 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.
18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble
yourselves, sit down: for your principalities
shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
19 The 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.
20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come
from the north: where is the flock that was given
thee, thy beautiful flock?
21 What 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?
22 And 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.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the
leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that
are accustomed to do evil.
24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble
that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures
from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast
forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy
face, that thy shame may appear.
27 I 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?
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