“Therefore you are to speak this word to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar should be filled with wine.”’ The people will say to you, ‘Do we not already know that every jar should be filled with wine?’
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?
“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.
“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].
Amplified Bible Copyright (c) 2015 by
The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631 All rights reserved.
For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.