Study Desk

The Lord has turned away from the family of Jacob. But I will wait for him. I trust that he will come to save us.

The people will say, "Go to the fortunetellers and wizards who mumble and chirp like birds. Ask them what to do." But I say, "Shouldn't people go to their God for help? Why go to the dead to get help for the living?"

But there will be an end to the gloom those people suffered. In the past, people thought the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was not important. But later, that land will be honored—the land along the sea, the land east of the Jordan River, and Galilee where people from other nations live.

Those people lived in darkness, but they will see a great light. They lived in a place as dark as death, but a great light will shine on them.

"Yes, those bricks fell, but we will rebuild with strong stone. Yes, those little trees were chopped down, but we will plant new trees. And they will be large, strong trees."

As for Israel, the Arameans are in front of him and the Philistines are behind him. And they are both eating away at him. But the Lord is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing Israel.

All of them are evil. So the Lord is not happy with the young men, and he will not show mercy to their widows and orphans. That is because they are evil hypocrites. They tell lies. The Lord has punished them, but he is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing his people.

People looked to the right and grabbed whatever they could, but they were still hungry. They grabbed whatever was on their left, but still they were not satisfied. So they turned on themselves and began to eat the bodies of their own children.

Manasseh fought against Ephraim, and Ephraim fought against Manasseh. Then both of them turned on Judah. But the Lord is not finished punishing his people. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing them.

You will have to bow down like a prisoner. You will fall down like a dead man, but that will not help you. God will still be angry and ready to punish you.

"But Assyria does not understand that I will use him. He does not think of himself as my tool. He only wants to destroy other people. He only plans to destroy many nations.

But Assyria doesn't understand this. So the Lord God All-Powerful will send a terrible disease against him. He will lose his wealth and power like a sick man losing weight. Then Assyria's glory will be destroyed. It will be like a fire burning until everything is gone.

Israel, your people are as many as the sands of the sea, but only a few of them will be left to come back to God. But before that happens, your country will be destroyed. God has announced that he will destroy the land. And then justice will come into the land like a river flowing full.

But after a short time my anger will stop. I will be satisfied that Assyria has punished you enough."

He will take away the troubles Assyria brought you—troubles that are like heavy weights carried with a yoke on your neck. But that yoke will be taken off your neck. The burden will be lifted from your shoulders.

He will gather the people of Israel and Judah who were forced to leave their country. They were scattered to all the faraway places on earth. But he will raise the flag as a sign for the other nations, and he will gather his people together again.

But Ephraim and Judah will attack the Philistines. These two nations will be like birds flying down to catch a small animal. Together, they will take the riches from the people in the East. Ephraim and Judah will control Edom, Moab, and the people in Ammon.

At that time you will say, "I praise you, Lord ! You have been angry with me, but don't be angry with me now. Show your love to me.

But Babylon will not continue to be beautiful. People will not continue to live there in the future. Arabs will not put their tents there. Shepherds will not bring their sheep to let them eat there.

Those nations will bring the Israelites back to their land. The men and women from the other nations will become slaves to Israel. In the past, those people forced the Israelites to become their slaves. But in the future the Israelites will defeat those nations, and Israel will then rule over them in the Lord 's land.