Study Desk

"In those days and at that time," says the LORD, "the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will come up weeping [in repentance] as they come and seek the LORD their God [inquiring for and of Him].

"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will visit (inspect, examine) and punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I visited and punished the king of Assyria.

The LORD has opened His armory And has brought out [the nations who unknowingly are] the weapons of His indignation (wrath), For it is a work of the Lord GOD of hosts In the land of the Chaldeans.

Listen to the voice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon, Proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, The vengeance [of the LORD against the Chaldeans] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.

"Behold, I am against you, [O Babylon, you] arrogant one, [you who are pride and presumption personified]," Says the Lord GOD of hosts, "For your day has come, The time when I will punish you.

"As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah and their neighboring cities," says the LORD, "So no man will live there; Nor shall any son of man live there."

For neither Israel nor Judah has been abandoned By his God, the LORD of hosts, Though their land is full of sin and guilt Before the Holy One of Israel.

The LORD has brought about our vindication and has revealed the righteousness of our cause; Come and let us proclaim in Zion The work of the LORD our God!

Every man has become stupid and brutelike, without knowledge [of God]; Every goldsmith is shamed by the cast images he has made; For his molten idols are a lie, And there is no breath [of life] or spirit in them.

The Portion of Jacob [the true God of Israel] is not like these [handmade gods]; For He is the Maker of all and the One who formed and fashioned all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance— The LORD of hosts is His name.

For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor At the time it is being trampled and prepared; Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her."

"I will punish and judge Bel [the handmade god] in Babylon And take out of his mouth what he has swallowed up [the stolen sacred articles and the captives of Judah and elsewhere]. The nations will no longer flow to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen down!

For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon; And her mighty warriors will be captured, Their bows are shattered; For the LORD is a God of [just] restitution; He will fully repay.

Let him sit alone [in hope] and keep quiet, Because God has laid it on him [for his benefit].

Let us lift up our hearts and our hands [in prayer] Toward God in heaven;

Now it came about [when I was] in my thirtieth year [of life], on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

"I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

"Go to the [Jewish] exiles [in Babylon], to the children of your people, and speak to them, whether they listen or not, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'"

"Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right standing with God) and sins, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but you will be responsible for his blood.

"But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses [to hear], let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.