Study Desk

"For all these things My hand has made, So all these things came into being [by and for Me]," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look [graciously], To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands.

So I will choose their punishments, And will bring the things they dread upon them Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen or obey. But they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem."

"For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will remain and endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will remain and endure.

"As the thief is shamed when he is caught, So the house of Israel is shamed— They, their kings, their leaders, Their priests, and their prophets—

"Why do you go around and wander so much Changing your way? Also, you will be shamed by Egypt As you were shamed by Assyria.

"Surely, as a wife treacherously (unfaithfully) leaves her husband, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel," says the LORD.

"It will come about when your people say, 'Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?' then you shall answer them, 'As you have abandoned (rejected) Me,' [says the LORD,] 'and have served strange and foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'

'As a cage is full of birds, So are their houses full of deceit and treachery; Therefore they have become influential and rich.

'They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous), They excel in acts of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper, And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love [to have] it so! But what will you do when the end comes?

"I will destroy the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), the lovely and delicate one [so like a luxurious pasture].

"As a fountain springs up and pours out its fresh waters, So she [continually] pours out her fresh wickedness. Violence and destruction are heard inside her [walls]; Sickness and wounds are always before Me.

"But this thing I did command them: 'Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, so that it may be well with you.'

"I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And a [funeral] dirge for the pastures of the wilderness, Because they are burned up and desolated so that no one passes through [them]; Nor can anyone hear the lowing of cattle. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they are gone.

Who is the wise man who may understand this [without any doubt]? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, so that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?

"They adorn the idol with silver and with gold; They fasten it with hammers and nails So that it will not fall apart.

which I commanded your fathers at the time that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Listen to My voice and do according to all that I command you. So you shall be My people, and I will be your God,'

that I may complete the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day."'" Then I answered, "Amen (so be it), O LORD."

"What right has My beloved [to be] in My house When she has done many vile things and acted treacherously [over and over again]? Can vows and the meat of your sacrifices remove your wickedness from you and cancel the consequences of your sin, So that you can [escape your judgment and] rejoice?"