Bishops(i)
1 Thus saith the Lorde vnto me: Go thy way and get thee a lynnen girdle, and girde it about thy loynes, let it not be wet
2 Then I got me a girdle accordyng to the commaundement of the Lorde, and put it about my loynes
3 After this, the seconde tyme the Lorde spake vnto me agayne
4 Take the girdle that thou hast prepared and put about thee, and get thee vp, and go vnto Euphrates, and hyde it there in a hole of the rocke
5 So went I, and hyd it at Euphrates, as the Lorde commaunded me
6 And it happened long after this, that the Lorde spake vnto me: Up, and get thee to Euphrates, & fetche the girdle from thence, which I commaunded thee to hyde there
7 Then went I to Euphrates, & digged vp, and toke the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and beholde, the girdle was corrupt, so that it was profitable for nothyng
8 Then sayde the Lorde vnto me
9 Thus saith the Lorde, Euen so wyll I corrupt the pride of Iuda, and the hye mynde of Hierusalem
10 This people is a wicked people, they wyll not heare my worde, they folowe the wicked imaginations of their owne heart, and hang vpon straunge gods, them they serue and worship, and therfore they shalbe as this breeche that serueth for nothyng
11 For as straytly as a girdle lyeth vpon a mans loynes, so straytly dyd I bynde the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Iuda vnto me, saith the Lorde: that they myght be my people, that they might haue a glorious name, that they might be in honour: but they woulde not obey me