Study Desk

"But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord and have forgotten his Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "My servants will eat, but you will starve. My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. My servants will rejoice, but you will be sad and ashamed.

My servants will sing for joy, but you will cry in sorrow and despair.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord , have spoken!"

But those who choose their own ways— delighting in their detestable sins— will not have their offerings accepted. When such people sacrifice a bull, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb, it's as though they had sacrificed a dog! When they bring an offering of grain, they might as well offer the blood of a pig. When they burn frankincense, it's as if they had blessed an idol.

Hear this message from the Lord , all you who tremble at his words: "Your own people hate you and throw you out for being loyal to my name. ‘Let the Lord be honored!' they scoff. ‘Be joyful in him!' But they will be put to shame.

Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem's birth pains begin, her children will be born.

They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord , have spoken!"

"Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.' On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.

But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?

"You say, ‘That's not true! I haven't worshiped the images of Baal!' But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel desperately searching for a mate.

When will you stop running? When will you stop panting after other gods? But you say, ‘Save your breath. I'm in love with these foreign gods, and I can't stop loving them now!'

To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, ‘You are my father.' To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say, ‘You are my mother.' They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me, ‘Come and save us!'

But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.

"I have punished your children, but they did not respond to my discipline. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a lion kills its prey.

And yet you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn't angry with me!' But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.

First here, then there— you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.

"If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?" says the Lord .

Surely you won't be angry forever! Surely you can forget about it!' So you talk, but you keep on doing all the evil you can."

I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.' But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.