The Meaning of Jeremiah 13:1 Explained

Jeremiah 13:1

KJV: Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

YLT: Thus said Jehovah unto me, 'Go, and thou hast got for thee a girdle of linen, and hast placed it on thy loins, and into water thou dost not cause it to enter:'

Darby: Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water.

ASV: Thus saith Jehovah unto me, Go, and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thus saith  the LORD  unto me, Go  and get  thee a linen  girdle,  and put  it upon thy loins,  and put  it not in water. 

What does Jeremiah 13:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Jeremiah 13:1-11 - 20-25, The Parable Of The Girdle
This parable of the girdle may really have been transacted. By some such striking symbol before them the attention of the people must have been powerfully arrested. Or, it may be that this is only a vivid style of presentation. Whichever it is, the chief idea is the intimacy of relationship between the Chosen People and their God, Jeremiah 13:11. Oh, that He would cause us to cleave to Him! The degradation of the best produces the worst, and nothing more strikingly sets forth the condition to which those may sink who have abused the highest possibilities, than the condition of this marred and profitless girdle. Let us beware! since capable of God's best and highest, we are also liable to the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Jerusalem is apostrophized, and asked where was the beautiful flock of sister and daughter towns which had gathered under her lead. They had been destroyed, and their people were in captivity. Their destruction had come from those who had been allies and friends, Jeremiah 13:21; but their sin was so deeply seated and inveterate that such a fate was inevitable. There was no hope of reformation, Jeremiah 13:23. It was easier to expect a negro to become white, or for a leopard to change his spots than that Israel should do good. Only Christ can do this for us. He can with a word arrest a Niagara in its fall and bid it leap back. His grace can cause the leprosy of inbred sin to cease its hold, never again to pollute the soul. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 13

1  By the type of a linen belt, hidden at Euphrates,
9  God prefigures the destruction of his people
12  By the parable of bottles filled with wine he foretells their drunkenness in misery
15  He exhorts to prevent their future judgments
22  He shows their abominations are the cause thereof

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 13:1 mean?

Thus said Yahweh to me go and get yourself a sash linen and put it around your waist but in water not do put it
כֹּֽה־ אָמַ֨ר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י הָל֞וֹךְ וְקָנִ֤יתָ לְּךָ֙ אֵז֣וֹר פִּשְׁתִּ֔ים וְשַׂמְתּ֖וֹ עַל־ מָתְנֶ֑יךָ וּבַמַּ֖יִם לֹ֥א תְבִאֵֽהוּ

כֹּֽה־  Thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֨ר  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֜ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֵלַ֗י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הָל֞וֹךְ  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְקָנִ֤יתָ  and  get 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָנָה 
Sense: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess.
לְּךָ֙  yourself 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
אֵז֣וֹר  a  sash 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֵזׄור  
Sense: waist-cloth, the innermost piece of clothing.
פִּשְׁתִּ֔ים  linen 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: פֵּשֶׁת  
Sense: flax, linen.
וְשַׂמְתּ֖וֹ  and  put  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
עַל־  around 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
מָתְנֶ֑יךָ  your  waist 
Parse: Noun, mdc, second person masculine singular
Root: מָתְנַיִם  
Sense: loins, hips.
וּבַמַּ֖יִם  but  in  water 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
תְבִאֵֽהוּ  do  put  it 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.

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