Study Desk

For the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Break up your ground which has not been planted, and do not plant seeds among thorns.

Make it known in Judah and Jerusalem, and say, "Sound the horns in the land." Cry out and say, "Gather together, and let us go into the strong cities made ready for battle."

Lift up a flag toward Zion! Run to a safe place, do not stand still. For I am bringing much trouble from the north that will destroy much.

Cover yourselves with cloth made from hair because of this. Cry out in sorrow. For the burning anger of the Lord has not turned away from us.

Then I said, "O Lord God, for sure You have fooled these people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace,' when in truth a sword brings danger to their lives."

A wind too strong for this will come at My word. Now I will bring punishment against them."

See, he comes up like clouds. His war-wagons come like the strong-wind. His horses are faster than eagles. It is bad for us, for we are destroyed!

For a voice calls out from Dan, and tells of sin from Mount Ephraim.

My soul, my soul! I am in pain! O, my heart! My heart is beating so hard! It cannot be quiet, for I hear the sound of the horn, telling of the coming war.

News of much trouble comes again and again, for the whole land is laid waste. All at once my tents and my curtains are destroyed.

"For My people are foolish. They do not know Me. They are children who do not think, and they have no understanding. They know a lot about how to do sinful things, but they do not know how to do good."

For the Lord says, "The whole land will be laid waste, yet I will not destroy everything.

For the earth will be filled with sorrow and the heavens above will be dark, because I have spoken. I have planned it, and will not change My mind or turn back."

And you, O destroyed one, what will you do? Even when you dress in red, and wear objects of gold, and color your eyes to make them look bigger, you make yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers hate you, and want to kill you.

I heard a cry as of a woman in pain, as if she were giving birth to her first child. It was the cry of the people of Zion, working hard to breathe, holding out hands, and saying, "O, it is bad for me! I am losing strength in front of those who want to kill me."

"Go up and down through the streets of Jerusalem, and look and learn. Look in her open places to see if you can find just one man who does what is right and looks for the truth. Then I will forgive this city.

Even if they say, ‘As the Lord lives,' for sure their promises are false."

O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have punished them, but they were not sorry. You have destroyed them, but they would not change. They have made their faces harder than rock. They would not be sorry for their sins and turn from them.

Then I said, "They are only the poor. They are foolish. For they do not know the way of the Lord or the Law of their God.

I will go to the great men and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, and the Law of their God." But they too have broken the load from their neck and have broken the chains.