Study Desk

You sinned, so the rain has not come. There has not been any springtime rains. But still you refuse to be ashamed. The look on your face is like that of a prostitute who refuses to be ashamed.

Judah did not care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country ‘dirty.' She committed the sin of adultery by worshiping idols made out of stone and wood.

The Lord is angry with us, so put on sackcloth and cry out loud!

People of Jerusalem, wash the evil from your hearts. Make your hearts pure so that you can be saved. Don't continue making evil plans.

The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem like men guarding a field. Judah, you turned against me, so the enemy is coming against you." This message is from the Lord .

"The way you lived and the things you did brought this trouble to you. It is your evil that made your life so hard. Your evil life brought the pain that hurts deep in your heart."

My sadness and worry is making my stomach hurt. I am bent over in pain. I am so afraid. My heart is pounding inside me. I cannot keep quiet, because I have heard the trumpet blow. The trumpet is calling the army to war.

So the people in the land will cry for the dead. The sky will grow dark. I have spoken and will not change. I have made a decision, and I will not change my mind."

Judah, you have been destroyed. So what are you doing now? Why are you putting on your best red dress? Why are you putting on your gold jewelry? Why are you putting on your eye makeup? You make yourself beautiful, but it is a waste of time. Your lovers hate you. They are trying to kill you.

But I said to myself, "It must be only the poor who are so foolish. They have not learned the way of the Lord . They don't know the teachings of their God.

So I will go to the leaders of Judah. I will talk to them. Surely the leaders know the way of the Lord . Surely they know the law of their God." But the leaders had all joined together to break away from serving God.

So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will kill them. A leopard is hiding near their cities, to tear to pieces anyone who comes out. That's because the people have sinned again and again. Many times they have wandered away from God.

The Lord God All-Powerful said these things: "The people said I would not punish them. So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire, and these people will be like wood. That fire will burn them up completely."

The people of Judah will ask you, ‘Jeremiah, why has the Lord our God done this bad thing to us?' Give them this answer: ‘You people of Judah have left me, and you have served foreign idols in your own land. You did these things, so now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.'

So get up! We will attack the city at night! Let's destroy the strong walls that are around Jerusalem."

As a well keeps its water fresh, so Jerusalem keeps its wickedness fresh. I hear about the robbing and violence in this city all the time. I see nothing but pain and sickness there all the time.

Who can I speak to? Who can I warn? Who will listen to me? The people of Israel have closed their ears, so they cannot hear my warnings. They don't like the Lord 's teachings. They don't want to hear his message.

They should be ashamed of the evil things they do, but they are not ashamed at all. They don't know enough to be embarrassed by their sins. So they will be punished with everyone else. They will be thrown to the ground when I punish the people." This is what the Lord said.

So listen, all you nations, and pay attention, you people in those countries.

So this is what the Lord says: "I will give the people of Judah problems. They will be like stones that make people fall. Fathers and sons will stumble over them. Friends and neighbors will die."