Study Desk

Jerusalem, look up and see the people coming from the north. Where is the flock God gave you to care for, the flock you bragged about?

"The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died, and her cities are very sad. They are distressed over the land. A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.

God, the Hope of Israel, you have saved Israel in times of trouble. Why are you like a stranger in the land, or like a traveler who only stays one night?

But I said, "Oh, Lord God , the prophets keep telling the people, ‘You will not suffer from an enemy's sword or from hunger. I, the Lord , will give you peace in this land.'"

Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain? Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. You are our only hope, because you are the one who made all these things.

Your words came to me, and I listened carefully to them. Your words made me very happy, because I am called by your name, Lord God All-Powerful.

because this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will soon stop the sounds of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of brides and bridegrooms in this place. This will happen during your lifetime.

"When you tell the people of Judah these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the Lord said these terrible things to us? What have we done wrong? What sin have we done against the Lord our God?'

They are like a bush in a desert that grows in a land where no one lives, a hot and dry land with bad soil. They don't know about the good things God can give.

From the beginning, our Temple has been honored as a glorious throne for God.

People will come to Jerusalem from the villages around it, from the towns of Judah, from the land of Benjamin, from the western hills, from the mountains, and from southern Judah. They will all bring to the Temple of the Lord burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and offerings to show thanks to God.

Say, ‘Kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the Lord . This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will soon bring a disaster on this place that will amaze and frighten everyone who hears about it.

"This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will soon bring disaster to Jerusalem and the villages around it, as I said I would. This will happen because the people are very stubborn and do not listen at all to what I say.'"

‘Here is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: You have weapons of war in your hands to defend yourselves against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians, who are all around the city wall. But I will make those weapons useless. Soon I will bring them into the center of this city.

And the answer will be: ‘Because the people of Judah quit following the agreement with the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.'"

He helped those who were poor and needy, so everything went well for him. That is what it means to know God," says the Lord .

They are responsible for the people, so the Lord , the God of Israel, says to them: "You have scattered my people and forced them away and not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done," says the Lord .

"Both the prophets and the priests live as if there were no God. I have found them doing evil things even in my own Temple," says the Lord .

"I am a God who is near," says the Lord . "I am also a God who is far away.

But you will never again say, ‘The message of the Lord ,' because the only message you speak is your own words. You have changed the words of our God, the living God, the Lord All-Powerful.