Study Desk

"The people of Judah say, ‘The Lord has shown us to be right. Come, let us tell in Jerusalem what the Lord our God has done.'

But God, who is Jacob's Portion, is not like the idols. He made everything, and he chose Israel to be his special people. The Lord All-Powerful is his name.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: "The city of Babylon is like a threshing floor, where people crush the grain at harvest time. The time to harvest Babylon is coming soon."

I will punish the god Bel in Babylon. I will make him spit out what he has swallowed. Nations will no longer come to Babylon; even the wall around the city will fall.

The army has come to destroy Babylon. Her soldiers have been captured, and their bows are broken, because the Lord is a God who punishes people for the evil they do. He gives them the full punishment they deserve.

he sees if someone is treated unfairly before the Most High God;

Both bad and good things come by the command of the Most High God.

Let us lift up our hands and pray from our hearts to God in heaven:

It was the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month of our captivity. I was by the Kebar River among the people who had been carried away as captives. The sky opened, and I saw visions of God.

I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring sound of the sea, as they moved. It was like the voice of God Almighty, a roaring sound like a noisy army. When the living creatures stopped, they lowered their wings.

I am sending you to people who are stubborn and who do not obey. You will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.'

Then go to the captives, your own people, and say to them, ‘The Lord God says this.' Tell them this whether they listen or not."

But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘The Lord God says this.' Those who will listen, let them listen. Those who refuse, let them refuse, because they are a people who turn against me.

But I said, "No, Lord God ! I have never been made unclean. From the time I was young until now I've never eaten anything that died by itself or was torn by animals. Unclean meat has never entered my mouth."

"This is what the Lord God says: This is Jerusalem. I have put her at the center of the nations with countries all around her.

"So this is what the Lord God says: You have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have not followed my rules or obeyed my laws. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you.

"So this is what the Lord God says: I myself am against you, and I will punish you as the nations watch.

So the Lord God says: You have made my Temple unclean with all your evil idols and the hateful things you do. Because of this, as surely as I live, I will cut you off. I will have no pity, and I will show no mercy.

Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God . The Lord God says this to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: I will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your places of idol worship.

"‘This is what the Lord God says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and groan because of all the hateful, evil things the people of Israel have done. They will die by war, hunger, and disease.