Study Desk

I saw the Lord standing by the altar. He gave the command: "Strike the tops of the Temple columns so hard that the foundation will shake. Break them off and let them fall on the heads of the people. I will kill the rest of the people in war. No one will get away; not one will escape.

And so the people of Israel will conquer what is left of the land of Edom and all the nations that were once mine," says the Lord , who will cause this to happen.

Your pride has deceived you. Your capital is a fortress of solid rock; your home is high in the mountains, and so you say to yourself, ‘Who can ever pull me down?'

Even though you make your home as high as an eagle's nest, so that it seems to be among the stars, yet I will pull you down.

But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up.

The sailors said to each other, "Let's draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger." They did so, and Jonah's name was drawn.

So they said to him, "Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?"

The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, "What should we do to you to stop the storm?"

So they cried out to the Lord , "O Lord , we pray, don't punish us with death for taking this man's life! You, O Lord , are responsible for all this; it is your doing."

This made the sailors so afraid of the Lord that they offered a sacrifice and promised to serve him.

So Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to walk through it.

The people of Nineveh believed God's message. So they decided that everyone should fast, and all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to show that they had repented.

God saw what they did; he saw that they had given up their wicked behavior. So he changed his mind and did not punish them as he had said he would.

So he prayed, " Lord , didn't I say before I left home that this is just what you would do? That's why I did my best to run away to Spain! I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to change your mind and not punish.

Then the Lord God made a plant grow up over Jonah to give him some shade, so that he would be more comfortable. Jonah was extremely pleased with the plant.

After the sun had risen, God sent a hot east wind, and Jonah was about to faint from the heat of the sun beating down on his head. So he wished he were dead. "I am better off dead than alive," he said.

So the Lord says, "I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country, a place for planting grapevines. I will pour the rubble of the city down into the valley, and will lay bare the city's foundations.

You that live in Lachish, hitch the horses to the chariots. You imitated the sins of Israel and so caused Jerusalem to sin.

And so the Lord says, "I am planning to bring disaster on you, and you will not be able to escape it. You are going to find yourselves in trouble, and then you will not walk so proudly any more.

So then, when the time comes for the land to be given back to the Lord 's people, there will be no share for any of you.