Study Desk

^(F1)Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and ^(C1)come down, That the mountains would ^(C2)quake at Your presence—

^(F1)As fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the ^(C1)nations may tremble at Your presence!

When You did ^(C1)awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.

For from days of old ^(C1)they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of one who ^(C2)waits for Him.

You ^(C1)meet him who rejoices in ^(C2)doing righteousness, Who ^(C3)remembers You in Your ways. Behold, ^(C4)You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in ^(F1)our sins for a long time; Yet shall we be saved?

For all of us have become like one who is ^(C1)unclean, And all our ^(C2)righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us ^(C3)wither like a leaf, And our ^(C4)wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.

There is ^(C1)no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself to take hold of You; For You have ^(C2)hidden Your face from us And have ^(F1)surrendered us to the power of our wrongdoings.

But now, LORD, ^(C1)You are our Father; We are the ^(C2)clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the ^(C3)work of Your hand.

Do not be ^(C1)angry beyond measure, LORD, ^(C2)Nor remember wrongdoing forever. Behold, please look, all of us are ^(C3)Your people.

Your ^(C1)holy cities have become a ^(C2)wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

Our holy and beautiful ^(C1)house, Where our fathers praised You, Has been burned by fire; And ^(C2)all our precious things have become a ruin.

Will You ^(C1)restrain Yourself at these things, LORD? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

"I permitted Myself to be sought by ^(C1)those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here am I, here am I,' To a nation which ^(C2)did not call on My name.

-"^(C1)I have spread out My hands all day long to a ^(C2)rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, ^(F1)following their own ^(C3)thoughts,

A people who continually ^(C1)provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in ^(C2)gardens and ^(C3)burning incense on bricks;

Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who ^(C1)eat pig's flesh, And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

-"Who say, '^(C1)Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!' These are smoke in My ^(F1)nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

-"Behold, it is written before Me: I will ^(C1)not keep silent, but ^(C2)I will repay; I will even repay ^(F1)into their laps,

Both your own ^(C1)wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together," says the LORD. "Because they have ^(C2)burned incense on the mountains And ^(C3)scorned Me on the hills, Therefore I will ^(C4)measure their former work ^(F1)into their laps."

This is what the LORD says: "Just as the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, 'Do not destroy it, for there is ^(F1)benefit in it,' So I will act in behalf of My servants In order ^(C1)not to destroy ^(F2)all of them.

-"I will bring forth ^(F1)(C1)offspring from Jacob, And an ^(C2)heir of My mountains from Judah; ^(C3)My chosen ones shall inherit it, And ^(C4)My servants will live there.

-"^(C1)Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the ^(C2)Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who ^(C3)seek Me.

-"But as for you who ^(C1)abandon the LORD, Who forget My ^(C2)holy mountain, Who set a table for ^(F1)Fortune, And fill a jug of mixed wine for ^(F2)Destiny,

I will destine you for the ^(C1)sword, And all of you will bow down to the ^(C2)slaughter. Because I called, but you ^(C3)did not answer; I spoke, but you did not listen. Instead, you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."

Therefore, this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "Behold, My servants will ^(C1)eat, but you will be ^(C2)hungry. Behold, My servants will ^(C3)drink, but you will be ^(C4)thirsty. Behold, My servants will ^(C5)rejoice, but you will be ^(C6)put to shame.

-"Behold, My servants will ^(C1)shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will ^(C2)cry out from a painful heart, And you will wail from a broken spirit.

-"You will leave your name as a ^(C1)curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord ^(F1)GOD will put you to death. But ^(F2)My servants will be called by ^(C2)another name.

-"Because the one who ^(F1)is blessed on the earth Will ^(F1)be blessed by the ^(C1)God of truth; And the one who swears an oath on the earth Will ^(C2)swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!

"For behold, I create ^(C1)new heavens and a new earth; And the ^(C2)former things will not be remembered or come to ^(F1)mind.

-"But be ^(C1)glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness.

-"I will also ^(C1)rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of ^(C2)weeping and the sound of crying.

-"No longer will there be ^(F1)in it an infant who lives only a few days, Or an old person who does ^(C1)not ^(F2)live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of a hundred, And the ^(F3)(C2)one who does not reach the age of a hundred Will be thought accursed.

-"They will ^(C1)build houses and inhabit them; They will also ^(C2)plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

-"They will not build and ^(C1)another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For ^(C2)as the ^(F1)lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will ^(C3)fully enjoy the work of their hands.

-"They will ^(C1)not labor in vain, Or give birth to children for disaster; For they are the ^(F1)(C2)descendants of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them.

"It will also come to pass that before they call, I will ^(C1)answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen.

"The ^(C1)wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the ^(C2)lion will eat straw like the ox; and ^(C3)dust will be the serpent's food. They will ^(C4)do no evil or harm on all My ^(C5)holy mountain," says the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet. Where then is a ^(C2)house you could build for Me? And where is a place that ^(F1)I may rest?

-"For ^(C1)My hand made all these things, So all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But I will look to this one, At one who is humble and ^(C2)contrite in spirit, and who ^(C3)trembles at My word.

"But the one who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a person; The one who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog's neck; One who offers a grain offering is like one who offers ^(C1)pig's blood; One who ^(F1)(C2)burns incense is like one who blesses an idol. As they have chosen their ^(C3)own ways, And their souls delight in their ^(C4)abominations,

So I will ^(C1)choose their ^(F1)punishments And ^(C2)bring on them what they dread. Because I called, but ^(C3)no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen. Instead, they did ^(C4)evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."

Hear the word of the LORD, you who ^(C1)tremble at His word: "Your brothers who ^(C2)hate you, who ^(C3)exclude you on account of My name, Have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, so that we may see your joy.' But ^(C4)they will be put to shame.

-"A sound of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of the LORD who is ^(C1)dealing retribution to His enemies.

"Before she was in labor, ^(C1)she delivered; Before her pain came, ^(C2)she gave birth to a boy.

-"^(C1)Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be ^(F1)born in one day? Can a nation be given birth all at once? As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.

-"Shall I bring to the point of birth but ^(C1)not give delivery?" says the LORD. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?" says your God.

"Be ^(C1)joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^(C2)love her; Be exceedingly ^(C3)glad with her, all you who mourn over her,

So that you may nurse and ^(C1)be satisfied with her comforting breasts, So that you may drink fully and be delighted with her ^(C2)bountiful breasts."

For this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I extend ^(C1)peace to her like a river, And the ^(C2)glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will ^(F1)be nursed, you will be ^(C3)carried on the ^(F2)hip and rocked back and forth on the knees.

-"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^(C1)comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem."

Then you will ^(C1)see this, and your ^(C2)heart will be glad, And your ^(C3)bones will flourish like the new grass; And the ^(C4)hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants, But He will be ^(C5)indignant toward His enemies.

For behold, the LORD will come in ^(C1)fire, And His ^(C2)chariots like the whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.

For the LORD will execute judgment by ^(C1)fire And by His ^(C2)sword on ^(F1)humanity, And those put to death by the LORD will be many.

"Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^(C1)gardens, ^(F1)Following one in the center, Who eat ^(C2)pig's flesh, detestable things, and mice, Will ^(C3)come to an end altogether," declares the LORD.

"For I ^(F1)know their works and their ^(C1)thoughts; ^(F2)the time is coming to ^(C2)gather all the nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

"And I will put a ^(C1)sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: ^(C2)Tarshish, ^(F1)Put, ^(C3)Lud, ^(F2)Meshech, ^(C4)Tubal, and ^(F3)Javan, to the distant ^(C5)coastlands that have neither heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will ^(C6)declare My glory among the nations.

"Then they shall ^(C1)bring all your countrymen from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My ^(C2)holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^(C3)clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

"I will also take some of them as ^(C1)priests and Levites," says the LORD.

"For just as the ^(C1)new heavens and the new earth, Which I make, will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So will your ^(C2)descendants and your ^(C3)name endure.

-"And it shall be from ^(C1)new moon to new moon And from Sabbath to Sabbath, All ^(F1)mankind will come to ^(C2)bow down before Me," says the LORD.

"Then they will go out and look At the ^(C1)corpses of the people Who have ^(C2)rebelled against Me. For their ^(C3)worm will not die ^(C4)And their fire will not be extinguished; And they will be an ^(C5)abhorrence to all ^(F1)mankind."