Study Desk

Then I raised up some of your sons to speak for Me, and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is this not true, you sons of Israel?" says the Lord.

"But you made the Nazirites drink wine. And you told the men who speak for Me not to speak.

"You are the only ones I have chosen among all the families of the earth. So I must punish you for all your sins."

For sure the Lord does not do anything without making His plan known to His servants who speak for Him.

They do not know how to do what is right," says the Lord. "They store up in their strong cities what they have fought for and robbed."

"On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will punish the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Listen to this, you fat cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria. You make it hard for the poor. You crush those in need. You say to your husbands, "Bring us something to drink!"

Give a thank gift of bread made with yeast. And make your free-will gifts known. For this is what you love to do, O people of Israel," says the Lord God.

Hear this word, O people of Israel, this song of sorrow which I sing for you:

For the Lord God says, "The city of Israel that sends out a thousand soldiers will have a hundred left. And the one that sends out a hundred will have ten left."

The Lord says to the people of Israel, "Look for Me and live.

But do not look for Bethel. Do not go to Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be taken away to a strange land, and Bethel will come to nothing."

Look for the Lord and live, or He will break out like fire in the family of Joseph. It will destroy, and no one in Bethel will be able to stop it.

The Lord made the stars of Pleiades and Orion. He changes darkness into morning, and turns day into night. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth. The Lord is His name.

For I know that you have done much wrong and your sins are many. You make trouble for those who are right and good, and you take pay in secret for wrong-doing. You will not be fair to the poor.

The wise man keeps quiet at such a time, for it is a sinful time.

Look for good and not sin, that you may live. Then the Lord God of All will be with you, just as you have said.

It is bad for you who want the day of the Lord to come. For what will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light.

"O people of Israel, was it to Me you gave gifts of animals and grain on the altar for forty years in the desert?

You also carried with you Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun your star god, the false gods you made for yourselves.