Study Desk

It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.

In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.

I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.

But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion,

Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.

But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.

Because of the indecency of your uncleanness I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be purified from your filthiness. You will not be pure again until My wrath against you has subsided.

"Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.

Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.

I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found, declares the Lord GOD.'"

Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.

By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.'

But I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.

Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king, but Pharaoh's arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon's king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.

But you too will be shattered and lie down among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.

Then if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.