1Yahweh said to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen belt. Put it around your waist, but don’t let it get wet.”
2So I bought a belt as Yahweh commanded and put it around my waist.
3Yahweh’s message came to me a second time, saying,
4“Take the belt you bought, which is around your waist, and go to the Euphrates River. Hide it there in a crack in the rock.”
5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, just as Yahweh commanded me.
6After many days, Yahweh said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the belt I told you to hide there.”
7So I went to the Euphrates, dug it up, and took the belt from the place where I had hidden it. And look, the belt was ruined; it was good for nothing.
8Then Yahweh’s message came to me, saying,
9“Yahweh says, ‘In this way, I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.’
10‘These evil people, who refuse to listen to my words, who stubbornly follow their own desires, and who go after other gods to serve and worship them, will become just like this belt—good for nothing.’
11‘For just as a belt clings to a man’s waist, so I made the whole people of Israel and the whole people of Judah cling to me,’ says Yahweh, ‘so they might be my people, and bring me fame, praise, and glory. But they would not listen.’
12“Therefore, you must tell them this message: ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, “Every bottle will be filled with wine.”’ They will tell you, ‘Don’t we already know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’
13Then tell them, ‘Yahweh says: “Look, I will make all the people living in this land—including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem—drunk.”
14“I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike,” says Yahweh. “I will not show pity, mercy, or compassion, but I will destroy them.”’”
15Listen and pay attention. Don’t be arrogant, for Yahweh has spoken.
16Give glory to Yahweh your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dark mountains. While you hope for light, he will turn it into the shadow of death and make it deep darkness.
17But if you refuse to listen, my soul will secretly weep because of your pride. My eyes will weep bitterly and stream with tears, because Yahweh’s flock has been taken captive.
18Say to the king and the queen mother, “Humble yourselves and sit down, for your magnificent crowns have fallen from your heads.”
19The cities of the South are shut up, and no one can open them. All of Judah has been taken away as captives; it has been completely carried away.
20Look up and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock?
21What will you say when he appoints as your leaders those you yourself taught to be your allies? Won't pain seize you, like a woman in labor?
22If you ask yourself, 'Why are these things happening to me?' It's because your great sin has exposed you, and your heels have suffered violence.
23Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard its spots? Then you who are used to doing evil can also do good.
24"Therefore I will scatter them, like straw blown away by the desert wind.
25This is your destiny, the share I have measured out for you," says Yahweh, "because you have forgotten me and trusted in lies."
26Therefore I will also expose your disgrace for everyone to see, and your shame will be revealed.
27I have seen your disgusting acts, your adultery, your loud cries, and your shameless prostitution on the hills in the field. How terrible for you, Jerusalem! You will not be cleansed; how much longer will this go on?"