Jeremiah 13:15-27·~1 min

Captivity Threatened

Jeremiah calls the people to hear without arrogance and to give glory to the LORD before He brings darkness and stumbling. If they refuse, the prophet will weep in secret because the LORD's flock is going into captivity.

L¹⁵isten and give heed. Do not be arrogant, ¹⁶Give glory to the LORD your God ¹⁷But if you do not listen,

The king and queen mother are told to sit low because their glorious crowns are coming down. The cities of the Negev are shut up, and Judah is carried away completely into exile.

¹⁸Say to the king ¹⁹The cities of the Negev have been shut tight,

Jerusalem is told to look at the northern invader and answer for the loss of the flock once entrusted to her. When she asks why this has happened, the answer is that the greatness of her iniquity has led to public humiliation and pain like childbirth.

²⁰Lift up your eyes and see ²¹What will you say when He sets over you ²²And if you ask yourself,

Jeremiah asks whether the Ethiopian can change skin or the leopard spots, pressing the point that Judah has become habituated to doing evil. Therefore the LORD will scatter her like chaff, expose her shame, and judge her adulteries, lust, and abominations with the cry that Jerusalem still refuses cleansing.

²³Can the Ethiopian change his skin, ²⁴“I will scatter you like chaff ²⁵This is your lot, ²⁶So I will pull your skirts up over your face, ²⁷Your adulteries and lustful neighings,

Section summaryThe final section leaves symbolism behind and speaks directly: Judah must abandon arrogance and give glory to the LORD before darkness and exile overtake it. Jeremiah mourns in secret over the pride of the flock, addresses king and queen mother with humiliation, and finally exposes Jerusalem's shameless adultery and ingrained evil as the reason captivity and disgrace cannot be avoided.

Role in the chapterThis closing section gathers the chapter's warnings into a final, personal appeal and sentence. It shows that the shame of exile is not arbitrary but the fitting public exposure of long-practiced pride, lust, and covenant betrayal.