Study Desk

Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.

Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:

Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one's children.

A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn't even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead.

Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: "The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.

Oh, what a sinful nation they are— loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord . They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven's Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.

They will attack their neighbor on the right but will still be hungry. They will devour their neighbor on the left but will not be satisfied. In the end they will even eat their own children.

Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.

The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children."

Kill this man's children! Let them die because of their father's sins! They must not rise and conquer the earth, filling the world with their cities."

This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: "I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children's children," says the Lord .

"Who does the Lord think we are?" they ask. "Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?

For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

"What sorrow awaits my rebellious children," says the Lord . "You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.

For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.

This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: "Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

"Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure. You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other. I will never be a widow or lose my children.'

Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic.