Study Desk

For the LORD has a day of ^(C1)vengeance, A year of retribution for the ^(F1)cause of Zion.

^(F1)Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into ^(C1)brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.

It will ^(C1)not be extinguished night or day; Its ^(C2)smoke will go up forever. From ^(C3)generation to generation it will be desolate; ^(C4)None will pass through it forever and ever.

But ^(F1)(C1)pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And ^(F2)owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the ^(C2)line of ^(F3)desolation And the ^(F4)plumb line of emptiness.

Its nobles—there is ^(C1)no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its officials will be ^(C2)nothing.

Thorns will come up in its ^(C1)fortified towers, Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of ^(C2)jackals And a habitat of ostriches.

The desert ^(C1)creatures will meet with the ^(F1)wolves, The ^(F2)(C1)goat also will cry to its kind. Yes, the ^(F3)night-bird will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its ^(F1)protection. Yes, ^(C1)the ^(F2)hawks will be gathered there, Every one with its kind.

Seek from the ^(C1)book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these will be missing; None will lack its mate. For ^(F1)(C2)His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them.

He has cast the ^(C1)lot for them, And His hand has divided it to them by the ^(C2)measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From ^(C3)generation to generation they will dwell in it.