Jeremiah 13:15-27

¶Listen and pay close attention, do not be haughty and overconfident, For the LORD has spoken [says Jeremiah]. Give glory to the LORD your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dark and shadowy mountains, And while you are longing for light He turns it into the shadow of death, And makes it into thick darkness. But if you will not listen and obey, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And flow with tears, Because the LORD’S flock has been taken captive. Say to the king and the queen mother, “Humble yourselves and take a lowly seat, For your beautiful crown [the crown of your glory] Has come down from your head.” The cities of the South (the Negev) have been closed up, And there is no one to open them; All Judah has been carried into exile, Completely carried away into exile. ¶“Lift up your eyes and see Those coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you [to shepherd], Your beautiful flock? “What will you say [O Jerusalem] when the LORD appoints [foreign nations to rule] over you— Those former friends and allies whom you have encouraged [to be your companions]— Will not pain seize you Like [that of] a woman in childbirth? “And if you [wonder and] say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ It is because of the greatness and nature of your sin That your skirts have been pulled away [subjecting you to public disgrace] And [like a barefoot slave] your heels have been wounded. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to evil and even trained to do it. “Therefore I will scatter you like drifting straw [Driven away] by the desert wind. “This is your destiny, the portion [of judgment] measured to you From Me,” says the LORD, “Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in [pagan] lies [the counterfeit gods, and the pretense of alliance].” “So I Myself will throw your skirts up over your face, That your shame may be exposed [publicly]. “I have seen your vile and detestable acts, Even your adulteries and your lustful neighings [after idols], And the lewdness of your prostitution On the hills in the fields. Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean [by ignoring My precepts]?”