[13:15] People of Israel, the Lord has spoken! Be humble and listen to him.
[13:16] Honor the Lord, your God, before he brings darkness, and you stumble on the mountains; before he turns into deep darkness the light you hoped for.
[13:17] If you will not listen, I will cry in secret because of your pride; I will cry bitterly, and my tears will flow because the Lord's people have been taken away as captives.
[13:18] The Lord said to me, “Tell the king and his mother to come down from their thrones, because their beautiful crowns have fallen from their heads.
[13:19] The towns of southern Judah are under siege; no one can get through to them. All the people of Judah have been taken away into exile.”
[13:20] Jerusalem, look! Your enemies are coming down from the north! Where are the people entrusted to your care, your people you were so proud of?
[13:21] What will you say when people you thought were your friends conquer you and rule over you? You will be in pain like a woman giving birth.
[13:22] If you ask why all this has happened to you—why your clothes have been torn off and you have been raped—it is because your sin is so terrible.
[13:23] Can people change the color of their skin, or a leopard remove its spots? If they could, then you that do nothing but evil could learn to do what is right.
[13:24] The Lord will scatter you like straw that is blown away by the desert wind.
[13:25] He has said that this will be your fate. This is what he has decided to do with you, because you have forgotten him and have trusted in false gods.
[13:26] The Lord himself will strip off your clothes and expose you to shame.
[13:27] He has seen you do the things he hates. He has seen you go after pagan gods on the hills and in the fields, like a man lusting after his neighbor's wife or like a stallion after a mare. People of Jerusalem, you are doomed! When will you ever be pure?