Study Desk

"The tribe of Ephraim made itself very important in Israel. Ephraim spoke and people shook with fear. But Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal, so he must die.

"Israel, I helped you, but you turned against me. So now I will destroy you.

"Ephraim tried to hide his guilt. He thought his sins were a secret, but he will be punished.

Israel grows among his brothers, but a powerful east wind will come—the Lord 's wind will blow from the desert. Then his well will dry up. His spring of water will be dry. The wind will take away anything of value.

We planted seeds, but the seeds became dry and dead lying in the soil. Our plants are dry and dead. Our barns are empty and falling down.

No, I will force the people from the north to leave your land and make them go into a dry, empty land. Some of them will go to the eastern sea and some to the western sea. They did such terrible things, but they will be like a dead and rotting body. There will be such a terrible smell!"

"I, the Lord, sent my army against you. The swarming locusts and the hopping locusts and the destroying locusts and the cutting locusts ate everything you had. But I will pay you back for those years of trouble.

"Tyre! Sidon! All of you areas of Philistia! You are not important to me! Are you punishing me for something I did? You might think that you are punishing me, but I will soon punish you.

You sent my people to that faraway place, but I will bring them back. And I will punish you for what you did.

The Lord God will shout from Zion. He will shout from Jerusalem, and the sky and the earth will shake. But the Lord God will be a safe place for his people. He will be a place of safety for the people of Israel.

But there will always be people living in Judah. People will live in Jerusalem through many generations.

"But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them. They were as tall as cedar trees and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.

"But you made the Nazirites drink wine. You told the prophets not to prophesy.

"There are many families on earth, but you are the only family I chose to know in a special way. And you turned against me, so I will punish you for all your sins."

The Lord says, "A lion might attack a lamb, and a shepherd might try to save the lamb. But the shepherd will save only a part of that lamb. He might pull two legs or a part of an ear from the lion's mouth. In the same way, most of the people of Israel will not be saved. Those who live in Samaria will save only a corner from a bed, or a piece of cloth from a couch."

"I didn't give you any food to eat. There was no food in any of your cities, but you didn't come back to me." This is what the Lord said.

"I also stopped the rain, and it was three months before harvest time. So no crops grew. Then I let it rain on one city, but not on another city. Rain fell on one part of the country, but on the other part of the country, the land became very dry.

So the people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water, but there was not enough water for everyone. Still you didn't come to me for help." This is what the Lord said.

"I made your crops die from heat and disease. I destroyed your gardens and your vineyards. Locusts ate your fig trees and olive trees. But you still didn't come to me for help." This is what the Lord said.

"I sent diseases against you, as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with swords. I took away your horses. I made your camp smell very bad from all the dead bodies, but still you didn't come back to me for help." This is what the Lord said.