13:1 The LORD said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts¹ and put them on.² Do not put them in water.”³ 13:2 So I bought the shorts as the LORD had told me to do⁴ and put them on.⁵ 13:3 Then the LORD spoke to me again and said,⁶ 13:4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing⁷ and go at once⁸ to Perath.⁹ Bury the shorts there¹⁰ in a crack in the rocks.” 13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath¹¹ as the LORD had ordered me to do. 13:6 Many days later the LORD said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get¹² the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up¹³ the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found¹⁴ that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

13:8 Then the LORD said to me,¹⁵ 13:9 “I, the LORD, say,¹⁶ ‘This shows how¹⁷ I will ruin the highly exalted position¹⁸ in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. 13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said.¹⁹ They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance²⁰ to other gods by worshipping and serving them. So²¹ they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. 13:11 For,” I say,²² “just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah²³ tightly²⁴ to me.” I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise.²⁵ But they would not obey me.”

13:12 “So tell them,²⁶ ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’²⁷ And they will probably say to you, ‘Don’t you think we know²⁸ that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?” 13:13 Then²⁹ tell them, ‘The LORD says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor.³⁰ I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty,³¹ the priests and the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor.³² 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike.³³ “I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,”³⁴ says the LORD.

13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah,³⁵

“Listen and pay attention. Do not be arrogant.
For the LORD has spoken.
13:16 Show the LORD your God the respect that is due Him.³⁶
Do it before He brings the darkness of disaster.³⁷
Do it before you stumble³⁸ into distress
like a traveler on the mountains at twilight.³⁹
Do it before He turns the light of deliverance you hope for
into the darkness and gloom of exile.⁴⁰
13:17 But if you will not pay heed to this warning,⁴¹
I will weep secretly because of your arrogant pride.
I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears⁴²
because you, the LORD’s flock,⁴³ will be carried⁴⁴ into exile.

13:18 The LORD told me,⁴⁵

“Tell the king and the queen mother,
‘Come down from your thrones.⁴⁶
That is because your glorious crowns
will be removed⁴⁷ from your heads.⁴⁸
13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight.⁴⁹
No one will be able to go in or out of them.⁵⁰
All Judah will be carried off into exile.
They will be completely carried off into exile.’”⁵¹

13:20 Then I said,⁵²

“Look up, Jerusalem,⁵³ and see
the enemy⁵⁴ that is coming from the north.
Where is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care?⁵⁵
Where are the “sheep” that you take such pride in?⁵⁶
13:21 What will you say⁵⁷ when the LORD⁵⁸ appoints as rulers over you those allies
that you, yourself, had actually made accustomed to be such?⁵⁹
Then anguish and agony will grip you
like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.⁶⁰
13:22 You will probably ask yourself,⁶¹
‘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.’⁶²
It’s because you have sinned so much.⁶³
13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good
you who are so accustomed to doing evil.
Can an Ethiopian⁶⁴ change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard remove his spots?”⁶⁵

13:24 “The LORD says,⁶⁶

‘That is why I will scatter your people⁶⁷ like chaff
that is blown away by a desert wind.⁶⁸
13:25 This is your fate,
the destiny to which I have appointed you.
That is because you have forgotten me
and have trusted in false gods.
13:26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face
and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress.⁶⁹
13:27 People of Jerusalem,⁷⁰ I have seen your adulterous worship,
your shameless prostitution to and your lustful pursuit of other gods.⁷¹
I have seen your disgusting acts of worship⁷²
on the hills throughout the countryside.
You are doomed to destruction!⁷³
How long will you continue to be unclean?”