Jeremiah 13:4

“Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing ¹  and go at once ²  to Perath. ³  Bury the shorts there ⁴  in a crack in the rocks.”

"Take the belt you bought and are wearing round your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks."

"Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock."

"Take the linen belt you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks."

"Take the shorts that you bought and go straight to Perath and hide them there in a crack in the rock."

Take the band which you got for a price, which is round your body, and go to Parah and put it in a secret place there in a hole of the rock.

"Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock."

"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."

“Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing ¹  and go at once ²  to Perath. ³  Bury the shorts there ⁴  in a crack in the rocks.”

¹ tn Heb “which are upon your loins.” See further the notes on v. 1.

² tn Heb “Get up and go.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action.

³ tn There has been a great deal of debate about whether the place referred to here is a place (Parah [= Perath] mentioned in Josh 18:23, modern Khirbet Farah, near a spring ’ain Farah) about three and a half miles from Anathoth which was Jeremiah’s home town or the Euphrates River. Elsewhere the word “Perath” always refers to the Euphrates but it is either preceded by the word “river of” or there is contextual indication that the Euphrates is being referred to. Because a journey to the Euphrates and back would involve a journey of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) and take some months, scholars both ancient and modern have questioned whether “Perath” refers to the Euphrates here and if it does whether a real journey was involved. Most of the attempts to identify the place with the Euphrates involve misguided assumptions that this action was a symbolic message to Israel about exile or the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon. However, unlike the other symbolic acts in Jeremiah (and in Isaiah and Ezekiel) the symbolism is not part of a message to the people but to Jeremiah; the message is explained to him (vv. 9-11) not the people. In keeping with some of the wordplays that are somewhat common in Jeremiah it is likely that the reference here is to a place, Parah, which was near Jeremiah’s hometown, but whose name would naturally suggest to Jeremiah later in the Lord’s explanation in vv. 9-11 Assyria-Babylon as a place connected with Judah’s corruption (see the notes on vv. 9-10). For further discussion the reader should consult the commentaries, especially W. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:396 and W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:285-92 who take opposite positions on this issue.

⁴ sn The significance of this act is explained in vv. 9-10. See the notes there for explanation.