Study Desk

The Lord my God said to me: Tend those sheep doomed for slaughter!

Then every clan in Judah will realize that I, the Lord All-Powerful, am their God, and that I am the source of their strength.

I, the Lord God, will protect Jerusalem. Even the weakest person there will be as strong as David, and David's kingdom will rule as though my very own angel were its leader.

Then I will purify them and put them to the test, just as gold and silver are purified and tested. They will pray in my name, and I will answer them. I will say, "You are my people," and they will reply, "You, Lord , are our God!"

Then you people will escape from the Lord 's mountain, through this valley, which reaches to Azal. You will run in all directions, just as everyone did when the earthquake struck in the time of King Uzziah of Judah. Afterwards, the Lord my God will appear with his holy angels.

I am the Lord God All-Powerful, and you had better try to please me. You have sinned. Now see if I will have mercy on any of you.

Don't you know that we all have God as our Father? Didn't the one God create each of us? Then why do you cheat each other by breaking the agreement God made with your ancestors?

And why isn't God pleased? It's because he knows that each of you men has been unfaithful to the wife you married when you were young. You promised that she would be your partner, but now you have broken that promise.

Didn't God create you to become like one person with your wife? And why did he do this? It was so you would have children, and then lead them to become God's people. Don't ever be unfaithful to your wife.

The Lord God All-Powerful of Israel hates anyone who is cruel enough to divorce his wife. So take care never to be unfaithful!

You people are robbing me, your God. And, here you are, asking, "How are we robbing you?" You are robbing me of the offerings and of the ten percent that belongs to me.

Here is what you have said: "It's foolish to serve the Lord God All-Powerful. What do we get for obeying him and from going around looking sad?

See how happy those arrogant people are. Everyone who does wrong is successful, and when they put God to the test, they always get away with it."

All those who truly respected the Lord and honored his name started discussing these things, and when God saw what was happening, he had their names written as a reminder in his book.

"A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."

He said, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

And don't start telling yourselves that you belong to Abraham's family. I tell you that God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.

Jesus answered, "For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do." Then John agreed.

So Jesus was baptized. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove.

Jesus answered, "The Scriptures say: ‘No one can live only on food. People need every word that God has spoken.'"