Study Desk

They cry out to Me,"My God, we of Israel know You!"

For from Israel is even this!A craftsman made it, so it is not God;Surely the calf of Samaria will be smashed to splinters.

Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,And there is only hostility in the house of his God.

My God will despise themBecause they have not listened to Him;And they will be those who flee among the nations.

I will not execute My burning anger;I will not make Ephraim a ruin again.For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,And I will not come in wrath.

Ephraim surrounds Me with liesAnd the house of Israel with deceit;And Judah is also unruly against God,Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

In the womb he took his brother by the heel,And in his maturity he wrestled with God.

Even Yahweh, the God of hosts,Yahweh is His name of remembrance.

Therefore, return to your God,Keep lovingkindness and justice,And hope in your God continually.

But I have been Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt;I will make you settle in tents again,As in the days of the appointed festival.

Yet I have been Yahweh your GodSince the land of Egypt;And you were not to know any god except Me,And there is no savior besides Me.

Return, O Israel, to Yahweh your God,For you have stumbled in your iniquity.

Assyria will not save us;We will not ride on horses,Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,'To the work of our hands;For in You the orphan finds compassion."

Gird yourselves with sackclothAnd lament, O priests;Wail, O ministers of the altar!Come, spend the night in sackcloth,O ministers of my God;For the grain offering and the drink offeringAre withheld from the house of your God.

Set apart a fast as holy,Call for a solemn assembly;Gather the eldersAnd all the inhabitants of the landTo the house of Yahweh your God,And cry out to Yahweh.

Has not food been cut off before our eyes,Gladness and joy from the house of our God?

And tear your heart and not your garments."Now return to Yahweh your God,For He is gracious and compassionate,Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness,And relenting concerning evil.

Who knows whether He will not turn and relentAnd leave a blessing behind Him,Even a grain offering and a drink offeringFor Yahweh your God?

Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh,Weep between the porch and the altar,And let them say, "Pity Your people, O Yahweh,And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,A byword among the nations.Why should they among the peoples say,‘Where is their God?'"

So rejoice, O sons of Zion,And be glad in Yahweh your God,For He has given you the early rain in righteousness.And He has poured down for you the rain,The early and late rains as before.