13:1 耶和華對我如此說：「你去買一根麻布帶子束腰，不可放在水中。」
13:2 我就照著耶和華的話，買了一根帶子束腰。
13:3 耶和華的話第二次臨到我說：
13:4 「要拿著你所買的腰帶，就是你腰上的帶子，起來往幼發拉底河去，將腰帶藏在那裡的磐石穴中。」
13:5 我就去，照著耶和華所吩咐我的，將腰帶藏在幼發拉底河邊。
13:6 過了多日，耶和華對我說：「你起來往幼發拉底河去，將我吩咐你藏在那裡的腰帶取出來。」
13:7 我就往幼發拉底河去，將腰帶從我所藏的地方刨出來，見腰帶已經變壞，毫無用了。
13:8 耶和華的話臨到我說：
13:9 「耶和華如此說：我必照樣敗壞猶大的驕傲和耶路撒冷的大驕傲。
13:10 這惡民不肯聽我的話，按自己頑梗的心而行，隨從別神，事奉敬拜，他們也必像這腰帶變為無用。」
13:11 耶和華說：「腰帶怎樣緊貼人腰，照樣，我也使以色列全家和猶大全家緊貼我，好叫他們屬我為子民，使我得名聲，得頌讚，得榮耀；他們卻不肯聽。」
13:1 Thus
said the LORD unto me, Go, and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy
loins, and put it not in water.
13:2 So I bought a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it
upon my loins.
13:3 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
13:4 Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and
arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
13:5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
13:6 And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me,
Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee
to hide there.
13:7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the
place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable
for nothing.
13:8 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
13:9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of
Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
13:10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the
stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and
to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is profitable for nothing.
13:11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused
to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith
the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a
praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
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上帝透過腰帶來向耶利米說話，當然希望耶利米透過這個腐爛的腰帶向猶大的百姓說明上帝的信息。
對上帝而言，猶大是如同腰帶對人一樣的親密與接近。但是，這個腰帶離了人就沒有用處；同樣，猶大離了上帝，就失去了她該有的地位，最後就敗壞了、就腐爛了！
同樣，基督徒離了上帝也是如此！因此，我們要常常來親近上帝，才不至於失去上帝在我們身上的作為，才不會敗壞，維持生命的更新！
