Study Desk

But the gates by the rivers are open, and the enemy comes flooding in and destroys the king's palace.

Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. People yell, "Stop! Stop running away!" But it does not do any good.

but Thebes was defeated. Her people were taken away as prisoners to a foreign country. Soldiers beat her small children to death at every street corner. They threw lots to see who got to keep the important people as slaves. They put chains on all the important men of Thebes.

But Nineveh, all your strong places will be like fig trees. When new figs become ripe, people come and shake the tree. The figs fall into their mouths. They eat them, and the figs are gone.

You can do all these things, but the fire will still destroy you completely. And the sword will kill you. Your land will look like a swarm of grasshoppers came and ate everything. Nineveh, you grew and grew. You became like a swarm of grasshoppers. You were like a swarm of locusts.

And your government officials are also like locusts that settle on a stone wall on a cold day. But when the sun comes up, the rocks become warm, and the locusts all fly away. And no one knows where.

Lord , I continue to ask for help. When will you listen to me? I cried to you about the violence, but you did nothing!

This message cannot help those who refuse to listen to it, but those who are good will live because they believe it.

"Wine can trick a person. In the same way a strong man's pride can fool him, but he will not find peace. He is like death—he always wants more and more. And, like death, he will never be satisfied. He will continue to defeat other nations and to make those people his prisoners.

But soon enough, all those people will laugh at him and tell stories about his defeat. They will laugh and say, ‘It's too bad that the man who took so many things will not get to keep them! He made himself rich by collecting debts.'

But the Lord All-Powerful has decided that a fire will destroy everything that those people worked to build. All their work will be for nothing.

"But they will know the Lord's anger. It will be like a cup of poison in the Lord 's right hand. They will taste that anger, and then they will fall to the ground like drunks. "Evil ruler, you will drink from that cup. You will get shame, not honor.

Look at them! They speak to a wooden statue and tell it, "Get up! Rescue me." They talk to a stone that cannot speak and say, "Wake up!" Don't you know those things cannot help you? That statue may be covered with gold and silver, but there is no life in it.

But the Lord is in his holy temple, so the whole earth should be silent in his presence and show him respect.

Lord , I have heard the news about you. I am amazed, Lord , at the powerful things you did in the past. Now I pray that you will do great things in our time. Please make these things happen in our own days. But in your anger, remember to show mercy to us. Selah

He stood and judged the earth. He looked at the people of all the nations, and they shook with fear. For many years the mountains stood strong, but those mountains fell to pieces. Those old, old hills fell down. God has always been able to do that.

But you marched your horses through the deep water, stirring up the mud.

My whole body shook when I heard the story. My lips trembled. I felt weak deep down in my bones and stood there shaking. But I will wait patiently for destruction to come to those who attack us.

But I will still be glad in the Lord and rejoice in God my Savior.

And those who go up on their roofs to worship the stars will be forgotten. They worship me, the Lord , but they also use the name of the false god Milcom to make promises.