Study Desk

Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a ^(C1)song of mourning, house of Israel:

She has fallen, she will ^(C1)not rise again— The ^(C2)virgin Israel. She lies unnoticed on her land; There is ^(C3)no one to raise her up.

For this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "The city which goes forth a thousand strong Will have a ^(C1)hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have ^(C2)ten left to the house of Israel."

For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: "^(C1)Seek Me ^(C2)so that you may live.

-"But do not ^(F1)resort to ^(C1)Bethel And do not come to ^(C2)Gilgal, Nor cross over to ^(C3)Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will ^(F2)come to nothing.

-"^(C1)Seek the LORD so that you may live, Or He will break through like a ^(C2)fire, ^(F1)house of Joseph, And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,

For those who turn ^(C1)justice into wormwood, And ^(F1)throw righteousness to the earth."

He who made the ^(C1)Pleiades and Orion, And ^(C2)changes deep darkness into morning, ^(F1)Who also ^(C3)darkens day into night, Who ^(C4)calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The ^(C5)LORD is His name.

It is He who ^(C1)makes destruction flash upon the strong, So that ^(C2)destruction comes upon the fortress.

They hate him who ^(C1)rebukes in the ^(F1)gate, And they ^(C2)despise him who speaks with integrity.

Therefore because you impose heavy ^(F1)rent on the poor And take a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built ^(C1)houses of cut stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will ^(C2)not drink their wine.

For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great, You who are ^(C1)hostile to the righteous and accept bribes, And ^(F1)turn away the poor from justice at the ^(F2)gate.

Therefore at ^(F1)such a time the prudent person ^(C1)keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.

Seek good and not evil, so that you may live; And so may the LORD God of armies be with you, ^(C1)Just as you have said!

^(C1)Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the ^(F1)gate! Perhaps the LORD God of armies ^(C2)Will be gracious to the ^(C3)remnant of Joseph.

Therefore this is what the LORD God of armies, the Lord says: "There is ^(C1)mourning in all the public squares, And in all the streets they say, 'Oh no! Oh no!' They also call the ^(C2)farmer to mourning And ^(F1)(C3)professional mourners to mourning rites.

-"And in all the ^(C1)vineyards there is mourning, Because I will pass through the midst of you," says the LORD.

Woe to you who are longing for the ^(C1)day of the LORD, For what ^(F1)purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be ^(C2)darkness and not light;

As when a man ^(C1)flees from a lion And a bear confronts him, ^(F1)Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him.

Will the day of the LORD not be ^(C1)darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?

"I hate, I ^(C1)reject your festivals, Nor do I ^(F1)(C2)delight in your festive assemblies.

-"Even though you ^(C1)offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the ^(C2)peace offerings of your fattened oxen.

-"Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

-"But let ^(C1)justice roll out like waters, And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

"^(F1)(C1)Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel?

"^(C1)You also carried along ^(F1)Sikkuth your king and ^(F2)Kiyyun, your images, ^(F3)the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

"Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of armies.