Bible Strands
Jeremiah 13:4
“Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to Perath and hide it there in a crevice of the rocks.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks to Jeremiah during a second prophetic revelation, directing him to execute a specific physical act. This command follows immediately after the Lord’s initial instruction in Jeremiah 13:3 and precedes Jeremiah’s obedient departure in Jeremiah 13:5.
The words — The Hebrew imperative קַח (kach) commands "take" the אֵזוֹר ('ezor), or "loincloth," which Jeremiah had previously קָנִיתָ (qanita), "bought" and was wearing on his מָתְנֶיךָ (matneykha), "loins."
The thread — The directive to conceal an item at a river aligns with Jeremiah 51:63, where Jeremiah ties a stone to a scroll and casts it into the Euphrates, and recalls the Babylonian river setting of Psalm 137:1.
Why it lands — The text requires immediate, unhesitating compliance with a command that defies ordinary sense, framing prophetic ministry as precise execution of divine orders. It asks the reader to accept that God’s instructions may operate through concrete, observable acts rather than abstract declarations.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
- Jeremiah 51:63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.
- Micah 4:10 Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!