Study Desk

The poor and needy will find pastures for their sheep and will live in safety. But I will starve some of you, and others will be killed.

The streams near Dimon are flowing with blood. But the Lord will bring even worse trouble to Dimon, because all in Moab who escape will be attacked by lions.

We have heard of Moab's pride. Its people strut and boast, but without reason.

Now he says, "The contract of a hired worker is good for three years, but Moab's glory and greatness won't last any longer than that. Only a few of its people will survive, and they will be left helpless."

They have built altars and places for burning incense to their goddess Asherah, and they have set up sacred poles for her. But they will stop worshiping at these places.

Israel captured powerful cities and chased out the people who lived there. But these cities will lie in ruins, covered over with weeds and underbrush.

The plants may sprout and blossom that very same morning, but it will do you no good, because you will suffer endless agony.

But even if they roar like a fearsome flood, God will give the command to turn them back. They will be like dust, or like a tumbleweed blowing across the hills in a windstorm.

In the evening their attack is fierce, but by morning they are destroyed. This is what happens to those who raid and rob us.

Those Ethiopians are tall and their skin is smooth. They are feared all over the world, because they are strong and brutal. But at that time they will come from their land divided by rivers, and they will bring gifts to the Lord All-Powerful, who is worshiped on Mount Zion.

When this happens, the people who live along the coast will say, "Look what happened to them! We ran to them for safety, hoping they would protect us from the king of Assyria. But now, there is no escape for us."

Then I said, "My people, you have suffered terribly, but I have a message for you from the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel."

From my guard post, I answered, "Morning will soon be here, but night will return. If you want to know more, come back later."

Your leaders ran away, but they were captured without a fight. No matter how far they ran, they were found and caught.

Then you built a large tank between the walls to store the water. But you refused to trust the God who planned this long ago and made it happen.

But instead, you celebrated by feasting on beef and lamb and by drinking wine, because you said, "Let's eat and drink! Tomorrow we may die."

You may be powerful, but the Lord is about to snatch you up and throw you away.

That peg is fastened firmly now, but someday it will be shaken loose and fall down. Then everything that was hanging on it will be destroyed. This is what the Lord All-Powerful has promised.

Sidon, you are a mighty fortress built along the sea. But you will be disgraced like a married woman who never had children.

but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the Lord , and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the Lord .