Study Desk

Although I disciplined and strengthened their arms,Yet they devise evil against Me.

They have set up kings, but not by Me;They have appointed princes, but I did not know it.With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,That they might be cut off.

For they sow the wind,And they reap the whirlwind.The standing grain has no growth;It makes no flour.Should it make anything, strangers would swallow it up.

Even though they hire allies among the nations,Now I will gather them up;And they will begin to diminishBecause of the burden of the king of princes.

As for My sacrificial gifts,They sacrifice the flesh and eat it,But Yahweh has not accepted them.Now He will remember their iniquityAnd punish them for their sins;They will return to Egypt.

They will not remain in the land of Yahweh,But Ephraim will return to Egypt,And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;I saw your fathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.But they came to Baal‑peor and devoted themselves to shame,And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

My God will despise themBecause they have not listened to Him;And they will be those who flee among the nations.

They speak mere words;With worthless oaths they cut covenants;And judgment flourishes like gall in the furrows of the field.

Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be eradicated;Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars;Then they will say to the mountains,"Cover us!" And to the hills, "Fall on us!"

When it is My desire, I will chastise them;And the peoples will be gathered against themWhen they are bound for their double guilt.

They will walk after Yahweh;He will roar like a lion;Indeed, He will roar,And His sons will come trembling from the west.

They will come trembling like birds from EgyptAnd like doves from the land of Assyria;And I will settle them in their houses, declares Yahweh.

And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich;I have found wealth for myself;In all my labors they will find in meNo iniquity, which would be sin."

And now they sin more and moreAnd make for themselves molten images,Idols made from their silver according to their understanding,All of them the work of craftsmen.They are saying of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!"

As they had their pasture, then they became satisfied,Indeed, they were satisfied, and their heart became raised up;Therefore they forgot Me.

Those who live in his shadowWill again raise grain,And they will flourish like the vine.His name of remembrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.

Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;And like war horses, so they run.

They run like mighty men;They climb up the wall like men of war;And they each march in line,And they do not deviate from their paths.

Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh,Weep between the porch and the altar,And let them say, "Pity Your people, O Yahweh,And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,A byword among the nations.Why should they among the peoples say,‘Where is their God?'"