Study Desk

You who obey the Lord 's commands, listen to what he says: "Your brothers hated you. They turned against you because you followed me. Your brothers said, ‘When the Lord shows his glory, then we will rejoice with you.' But they will be punished."

And I will announce judgment against my people, because they are evil and have turned away from me. They offered sacrifices to other gods and worshiped idols they made with their own hands.

All those people will fight against you, but they will not defeat you, because I am with you, and I will save you." This message is from the Lord .

"Judah, how can you say to me, ‘I am not guilty because I have not worshiped the Baal idols'? Think about what you did in the valley. Think about what you have done. You are like a fast she-camel that runs from place to place.

But still, you say, ‘I am innocent. God is not angry with me.' So I will also judge you guilty of lying, because you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong.'

Israel was unfaithful, and she knew why I sent her away. Israel knew that I divorced her because she committed the sin of adultery. But that did not make her unfaithful sister afraid. Judah was not afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute.

The Lord says, "You people are unfaithful, but come back to me because I am your master. I will take one person from every city and two people from every family and bring you to Zion.

"People of Israel, you are unfaithful to me, but come back to me. Come back and I will forgive you for being unfaithful. "Just say, ‘Yes, we will come back, because you are the Lord our God.

Become the Lord 's people. Change your hearts. Men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, if you don't change, then I will become very angry. My anger will spread fast like a fire, and it will burn you up. No one will be able to put out that fire because of the evil you have done."

Raise the signal flag toward Zion. Run for your lives! Don't wait! Do this because I am bringing disaster from the north. I am bringing terrible destruction."

My sadness and worry is making my stomach hurt. I am bent over in pain. I am so afraid. My heart is pounding inside me. I cannot keep quiet, because I have heard the trumpet blow. The trumpet is calling the army to war.

So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will kill them. A leopard is hiding near their cities, to tear to pieces anyone who comes out. That's because the people have sinned again and again. Many times they have wandered away from God.

"Go along the rows of Judah's grapevines. Cut down the vines. (But don't completely destroy them.) Cut off all their branches, because they don't belong to the Lord .

You don't have these blessings because you have done wrong. Your sins have kept these good things away from you.

"Run for your lives, people of Benjamin! Run away from the city of Jerusalem! Blow the war trumpet in the city of Tekoa! Put up the warning flag in the city of Beth Hakkerem! Do these things because disaster is coming from the north. Terrible destruction is coming to you.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Cut down the trees around Jerusalem, and build a siege mound against it. This city should be punished because inside there is no justice—only slavery.

Hear this, people of the earth: I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah because of all the evil they planned, and because they ignored my messages. They refused to obey my law.

Don't go out into the fields. Don't go on the roads because the enemy has swords, and there is danger everywhere.

My people, put on sackcloth and roll in the ashes. Cry loudly for the dead. Cry as if you lost an only son. Do this because the destroyer will come against us very quickly.

My people will be called ‘Rejected Silver.' They will be given that name because the Lord did not accept them."