Study Desk

At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and birds, so that they will not harm my people. I will also remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, and will let my people live in peace and safety.

So I paid fifteen pieces of silver and seven bushels of barley to buy her.

And so the land will dry up, and everything that lives on it will die. All the animals and birds, and even the fish, will die."

My people are doomed because they do not acknowledge me. You priests have refused to acknowledge me and have rejected my teaching, and so I reject you and will not acknowledge your sons as my priests.

"The more of you priests there are, the more you sin against me, and so I will turn your honor into disgrace.

You grow rich from the sins of my people, and so you want them to sin more and more.

At sacred places on the mountaintops they offer sacrifices, and on the hills they burn incense under tall, spreading trees, because the shade is so pleasant! "As a result, your daughters serve as prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

"Listen to this, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you that belong to the royal family! You are supposed to judge with justice—so judgment will fall on you! You have become a trap at Mizpah, a net spread on Mount Tabor,

They have been unfaithful to the Lord ; their children do not belong to him. So now they and their lands will soon be destroyed.

The Lord says, "I am angry because the leaders of Judah have invaded Israel and stolen land from her. So I will pour out punishment on them like a flood.

The time for punishment has come, the time when people will get what they deserve. When that happens, Israel will know it! "This prophet," you say, "is a fool. This inspired man is insane." You people hate me so much because your sin is so great.

The people of Israel are like a plant whose roots have dried up and which bears no fruit. They will have no children, but even if they did, I would kill the children so dear to them."

The Lord says, "The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah. So at Gibeah war will catch up with them.

"They refuse to return to me, and so they must return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them.

So now, descendants of Jacob, trust in your God and return to him. Be loyal and just, and wait patiently for your God to act.

And so these people will disappear like morning mist, like the dew that vanishes early in the day. They will be like chaff which the wind blows from the threshing place, like smoke from a chimney.

So I will attack you like a lion. Like a leopard I will lie in wait along your path.

The seeds die in the dry earth. There is no grain to be stored, and so the empty granaries are in ruins.

So I will send fire upon the palace built by King Hazael and I will burn down the fortresses of King Benhadad.

So I will send fire upon the city walls of Gaza and burn down its fortresses.