Study Desk

Let the wicked forsake his wayAnd the unrighteous man his thoughts;And let him return to Yahweh,And He will have compassion on him,And to our God,For He will abundantly pardon.

"There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

Yet they seek Me day by day and find pleasure in knowing My ways,As a nation that has done righteousnessAnd has not forsaken the judgment of their God.They ask Me for righteous judgments;They find pleasure in the nearness of God.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Transgressing and denying Yahweh,And turning back from our God,Speaking oppression and revolt,Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.

Surely the coastlands will hope in Me;And the ships of Tarshish will come first,To bring your sons from afar,Their silver and their gold with them,For the name of Yahweh your God,And for the Holy One of Israel because He has adorned you with beautiful glory.

No longer will you have the sun for light by day,Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;But you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light,And your God for your glory.

To proclaim the favorable year of YahwehAnd the day of vengeance of our God,To comfort all who mourn,

I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh;My soul will rejoice in my God,For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress,And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

You will also be a crown of glory in the hand of Yahweh,And a turban of royalty in the hand of your God.

For as a young man marries a virgin,So your sons will marry you;And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,So your God will rejoice over you.

For from ancient times they have not heard or given ear,Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

Because he who is blessed in the earthWill be blessed by the God of truth,And he who swears in the earthWill swear by the God of truth;Because the former distresses are forgotten,And because they are hidden from My sight!

Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and not cause birth?" says Yahweh."Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?" says your God.

Your own evil will chastise you,And your acts of faithlessness will reprove you;Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitterFor you to forsake Yahweh your God,And the dread of Me is not in you," declares Lord Yahweh of hosts.

God says, "If a husband divorces his wifeAnd she goes from himAnd belongs to another man,Will he still return to her?Will not that land be completely polluted?But you are a harlot with many lovers;Yet you turn to Me," declares Yahweh.

A voice is heard on the bare heights,The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;Because they have perverted their way,They have forgotten Yahweh their God.

"Return, O faithless sons;I will heal your faithlessness.""Behold, we come to You,For You are Yahweh our God.

Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God."

Then I said, "They are only the poor;They are foolish;For they do not know the way of YahwehOr the legal judgment of their God.