Study Desk

Because the Lord is righteous, he will save Jerusalem and everyone there who repents.

So now, just as straw and dry grass shrivel and burn in the fire, your roots will rot and your blossoms will dry up and blow away, because you have rejected what the Lord Almighty, Israel's holy God, has taught us.

I said, "There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. And yet, with my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."

Why? Because Syria is no stronger than Damascus, its capital city, and Damascus is no stronger than King Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be too shattered to survive as a nation.

He said, "Because these people have rejected the quiet waters of Shiloah Brook and tremble before King Rezin and King Pekah,

Make your plans! But they will never succeed. Talk all you want to! But it is all useless, because God is with us.

Because of my awesome holiness I am like a stone that people stumble over; I am like a trap that will catch the people of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel and the people of Jerusalem.

And so the Lord will not let any of the young men escape, and he will not show pity on any of the widows and orphans, because all the people are godless and wicked and everything they say is evil. Yet even so the Lord 's anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

Because the Lord Almighty is angry, his punishment burns like a fire throughout the land and destroys the people, and it is each of us for ourselves.

Sing to the Lord because of the great things he has done. Let the whole world hear the news.

The cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fallen king, because there is no one to cut them down, now that he is gone!

Because you ruined your country and killed your own people, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive.

Let the slaughter begin! The sons of this king will die because of their ancestors' sins. None of them will ever rule the earth or cover it with cities.

The people of Moab will weep because of the troubles they suffer. They will all weep when they remember the fine food they used to eat in the city of Kir Heres. They will be driven to despair.

Now I weep for Sibmah's vines as I weep for Jazer. My tears fall for Heshbon and Elealeh, because there is no harvest to make the people glad.

People shout in the streets because there is no more wine. Happiness is gone forever; it has been banished from the land.

When it happens, everyone will say, "He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the Lord ! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us."

The branches of the trees are withered and broken, and women gather them for firewood. Because the people have understood nothing, God their Creator will not pity them or show them any mercy.

You boast that you have made a treaty with death and reached an agreement with the world of the dead. You are certain that disaster will spare you when it comes, because you depend on lies and deceit to keep you safe.

They know how to do their work, because God has taught them.