The Meaning of Jeremiah 13:4 Explained

Jeremiah 13:4

KJV: Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

YLT: Take the girdle that thou hast got, that is on thy loins, and rise, go to Phrat, and hide it there in a hole of the rock;

Darby: Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

ASV: Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Take  the girdle  that thou hast got,  which [is] upon thy loins,  and arise,  go  to Euphrates,  and hide  it there in a hole  of the rock. 

What does Jeremiah 13:4 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 13:4 mean?

take - the sash that you acquired which [is] around your waist and arise go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a hole in the rock
קַ֧ח אֶת־ הָאֵז֛וֹר אֲשֶׁ֥ר קָנִ֖יתָ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־ מָתְנֶ֑יךָ וְקוּם֙ לֵ֣ךְ פְּרָ֔תָה וְטָמְנֵ֥הוּ שָׁ֖ם בִּנְקִ֥יק הַסָּֽלַע

קַ֧ח  take 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הָאֵז֛וֹר  the  sash 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵזׄור  
Sense: waist-cloth, the innermost piece of clothing.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
קָנִ֖יתָ  you  acquired 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָנָה 
Sense: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
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.
וְקוּם֙  and  arise 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
לֵ֣ךְ  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
פְּרָ֔תָה  to  the  Euphrates 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: פְּרָת  
Sense: the largest and longest river of western Asia; rises from two chief sources in the Armenian mountains and flows into the Persian Gulf.
וְטָמְנֵ֥הוּ  and  hide  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: טָמַן  
Sense: to hide, conceal, bury.
בִּנְקִ֥יק  in  a  hole  in 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נָקִיק  
Sense: cleft (of a rock).
הַסָּֽלַע  the  rock 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סֶלַע  
Sense: crag, cliff, rock.

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