Study Desk

‘You said, "Ah, woe is me! For Yahweh has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my sighing and have found no rest."'

But as for you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring calamity on all flesh,' declares Yahweh, ‘but I will give your life to you as spoil in all the places where you may go.'"

"Arrange the shield and large shield,And draw near for the battle!

Indeed, that day belongs to Lord Yahweh of hosts,A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His adversaries;And the sword will devour and be satiatedAnd drink its fill of their blood;For there will be a sacrifice to Lord Yahweh of hostsIn the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

Go up to Gilead and obtain balm,O virgin daughter of Egypt!In vain have you multiplied remedies;There is no healing for you.

The nations have heard of your disgrace,And the earth is full of your outcry;For one warrior has stumbled over another,And both of them have fallen down together.

"Declare in Egypt and cause it to be heard in Migdol;Cause it to be heard also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,For the sword has devoured those around you.'

Make your baggage ready for exile,O inhabitant of the daughter of Egypt,For Memphis will become a desolation;It will even be turned into ruin and without inhabitants.

Also her mercenaries in her midstAre like fattened calves,For even they have turned back and have fled away together;They did not stand their ground.For the day of their disaster has come upon them,The time of their punishment.

Its sound moves along like a serpent;For they move on like a military forceAnd come to her as woodcutters with axes.

"But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear,Nor be dismayed, O Israel!For behold, I am going to save you from afar,And your seed from the land of their captivity;And Jacob will return and have quietAnd be at ease, with no one making him tremble.

O Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares Yahweh,"For I am with you.For I will make a complete destruction of all the nationsWhere I have banished you,Yet I will not make a complete destruction of you;But I will discipline you with justiceAnd by no means leave you unpunished."

Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his valiant steeds,The quaking of his chariots, and the tumult of his wheels,The fathers have not turned back for their children,Because of the limpness of their hands,

On account of the day that is comingTo destroy all the Philistines,To cut off from Tyre and SidonEvery ally that is left;For Yahweh is going to destroy the Philistines,The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

Concerning Moab. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,"Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed;Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered.

There is praise for Moab no longer;In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!'You too, Madmen, will be silenced;The sword will follow after you.

For by the ascent of LuhithThey will ascend with continual weeping;For at the descent of HoronaimThey have heard the distressed cry of destruction.

For because of your trust in your own works and treasures,Even you yourself will be captured;And Chemosh will go off into exileTogether with his priests and his princes.

Give wings to Moab,For she will flee away;And her cities will become a desolation,Without inhabitants in them.

How can you say, ‘We are mighty warriors,And men valiant for battle'?