Study Desk

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord ."

For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord ; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah.

They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord , to deliver you.

Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord : I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

Israel was holy to the Lord , the first fruits of his harvest. All who ate of it were held guilty; disaster came upon them, says the Lord .

Thus says the Lord : What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord , and I accuse your children's children.

Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord ,

Your wickedness will punish you, and your apostasies will convict you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you, says the Lord God of hosts.

Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, says the Lord God .

Why do you complain against me? You have all rebelled against me, says the Lord .

If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her? Would not such a land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? says the Lord .

Yet for all this her false sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense, says the Lord .

Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord . I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, says the Lord ; I will not be angry forever.

Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the Lord your God, and scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, and have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord .

Return, O faithless children, says the Lord , for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord , they shall no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord ." It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one be made.

Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband, so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord .

If you return, O Israel, says the Lord , if you return to me, if you remove your abominations from my presence, and do not waver,

For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.