Study Desk

While you were doing these wicked things, says the Lord , I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer.

"But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward.

But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.

"Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.

So beware, for the time is coming," says the Lord , "when that garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room for them.

They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure.

Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the Lord 's laws.

We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.'

But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord , have spoken!

"A time is coming," says the Lord , "when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit—

But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.

But the Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.

But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including Israel, his own special possession. The Lord of Heaven's Armies is his name!

My wound is severe, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it.

So correct me, Lord , but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

but your ancestors did not listen or even pay attention. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in this covenant.'"

Then the people of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols and burn incense before them. But the idols will not save them when disaster strikes!

I, the Lord , once called them a thriving olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit. But now I have sent the fury of their enemies to burn them with fire, leaving them charred and broken.

You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts.

But as for me, Lord , you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered!