Study Desk

The descendants of those who oppressed you will come And bow low to show their respect. All who once despised you will worship at your feet. They will call you ‘The City of the Lord ,' ‘Zion, the City of Israel's Holy God.'

Nations and kings will care for you As a mother nurses her child. You will know that I, the Lord , have saved you, That the mighty God of Israel sets you free.

To give to those who mourn in Zion Joy and gladness instead of grief, A song of praise instead of sorrow. They will be like trees That the Lord himself has planted. They will all do what is right, And God will be praised for what he has done.

And you will be known as the priests of the Lord , The servants of our God. You will enjoy the wealth of the nations And be proud that it is yours.

Jerusalem rejoices because of what the Lord has done. She is like a bride dressed for her wedding. God has clothed her with salvation and victory.

No longer will you be called "Forsaken," Or your land be called "The Deserted Wife." Your new name will be "God Is Pleased with Her." Your land will be called "Happily Married," Because the Lord is pleased with you And will be like a husband to your land.

Like a young man taking a virgin as his bride, He who formed you will marry you. As a groom is delighted with his bride, So your God will delight in you.

You will be called "God's Holy People," "The People the Lord Has Saved." Jerusalem will be called "The City That God Loves," "The City That God Did Not Forsake."

No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him.

Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing will ask to be blessed by the faithful God. Whoever takes an oath will swear by the name of the faithful God. The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten."

No other nation has ever changed its gods, even though they were not real. But my people have exchanged me, the God who has brought them honor, for gods that can do nothing for them.

Israel, you brought this on yourself You deserted me, the Lord your God, while I was leading you along the way.

Your own evil will punish you, and your turning from me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to abandon me, the Lord your God, and no longer to remain faithful to me. I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken."

Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the Lord , your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the Lord , have spoken.

A noise is heard on the hilltops: it is the people of Israel crying and pleading because they have lived sinful lives and have forgotten the Lord their God.

Return, all of you who have turned away from the Lord ; he will heal you and make you faithful. You say, "Yes, we are coming to the Lord because he is our God.

We were not helped at all by our pagan worship on the hilltops. Help for Israel comes only from the Lord our God.

But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters—everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times.

We should lie down in shame and let our disgrace cover us. We and our ancestors have always sinned against the Lord our God; we have never obeyed his commands."

People of Jerusalem, run through your streets! Look around! See for yourselves! Search the marketplaces! Can you find one person who does what is right and tries to be faithful to God? If you can, the Lord will forgive Jerusalem.